Key takeaway: Government sources give hourly wage figures for three Canadian occupations, 2026 income tax brackets for Canada and Ontario, India's new-regime slabs for AY 2026-27, Canada Child Benefit amounts, child care fee averages and public health coverage rules. They do not give a like-for-like India-Canada wage or cost-of-living comparison.

Canada: official hourly wages for software engineers

Job Bank publishes wage figures by occupation. For software engineers and designers (NOC 21231), its wage page lists three hourly figures for all of Canada: a low of 35.00, a median of 56.49 and a high of 91.35 ($/hour). The Ontario row lists 36.06, 56.73 and 88.00. Both rows give 2023-2024 as the reference period and name the Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey as the source. These are figures for the occupation as a whole, not an offer for any particular job.

Job Bank (Government of Canada): Wages for Software engineers and designers

Canada: nurses and teachers on the same wage pages

Job Bank's page for registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses (NOC 31301) lists 30.00, 43.27 and 54.37 ($/hour) for Canada, and 29.00, 42.00 and 55.00 for Ontario. Its page for elementary school and kindergarten teachers (NOC 41221) lists 26.67, 43.27 and 56.59 for Canada, and 27.50, 46.15 and 58.79 for Ontario. All rows use the 2023-2024 reference period. No comparable official Indian wage figure was used here, so this article makes no rupee comparison.

Job Bank (Government of Canada): Wages for Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses Job Bank (Government of Canada): Wages for Elementary school and kindergarten teachers

Canada: 2026 federal and Ontario income tax brackets

The Canada Revenue Agency page for income earned in 2026 lists federal rates by bracket of taxable income: 14% up to $58,523, 20.5% up to $117,045, 26% up to $181,440, 29% up to $258,482 and 33% above that. It adds that provincial or territorial rates apply in addition. Its Ontario table lists 5.05% up to $53,891, 9.15% up to $107,785, 11.16% up to $150,000, 12.16% up to $220,000 and 13.16% above. Each rate applies only to the income in its own bracket, not to all income.

Canada Revenue Agency: Current year tax rates and income brackets (2026)

India: new tax regime slabs on the official portal

The Income Tax Department's e-filing page for AY 2026-27 says the new tax regime is the default. For individuals under 60 it shows no tax up to ₹4,00,000, then 5% above ₹4,00,000, ₹20,000 plus 10% above ₹8,00,000, ₹60,000 plus 15% above ₹12,00,000, ₹1,20,000 plus 20% above ₹16,00,000, ₹2,00,000 plus 25% above ₹20,00,000 and ₹3,00,000 plus 30% above ₹24,00,000. It lists a rebate of up to ₹60,000 for resident individuals whose taxable income does not exceed ₹12,00,000 (not checked here for non-residents), and a 4% cess. These slabs are for AY 2026-27, not the same income year as the Canadian 2026 brackets; they are shown side by side, not to compare tax paid.

Income Tax Department of India (e-Filing portal): Salaried Individuals for AY 2026-27, Tax Slabs

Canada Child Benefit amounts for July 2026 to June 2027

The Canada Revenue Agency page on the Canada Child Benefit gives amounts for payments from July 2026 to June 2027, based on adjusted family net income (AFNI) from 2025. If AFNI is under $38,237, the page says you get the maximum amount for each child. That maximum is $8,157 per year ($679.75 per month) for a child under 6 and $6,883 per year ($573.58 per month) for a child aged 6 to 17. The page says any reduction depends on AFNI and the number of children.

Canada Revenue Agency: Canada child benefit (CCB) — How much you can get

Child care: what the federal page says about $10-a-day fees

Employment and Social Development Canada says it is working towards bringing fees down to $10-a-day on average. The text description of the page's fee-reductions figure lists these jurisdictions at average regulated child care fees of $10 a day or less: Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. It places Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia in the group with average fee reductions of 50% or more. These are averages for regulated care, not a price for a given family or place.

Employment and Social Development Canada: Toward $10-a-day — Early Learning and Child Care

Public health insurance: what is covered and what is not

Health Canada says Canada has a universal health care system funded through taxes, and eligible residents of a province or territory can apply for public health insurance. Each province and territory has its own plan and decides who qualifies as a resident. Provinces and territories also give additional coverage for services such as home care, vision care, dental care, prescription drugs and ambulance services to certain groups, including seniors, children and people who receive social assistance. This article does not assess federal programmes. A separate Canada.ca page says the Canadian Dental Care Plan helps make dental care more affordable for eligible Canadian residents; who qualifies is not assessed here.

Health Canada: About Canada's health care system Health Canada: How publicly funded health care coverage works Government of Canada (ESDC): Canadian Dental Care Plan

Ontario example: OHIP waiting period and qualifications

The Government of Ontario page says there is no longer a waiting period for OHIP coverage. It lists minimum qualifications that include being physically in Ontario for 153 days in any 12-month period. It also requires at least 1 additional requirement, such as being a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident. Rules differ by province, so this is one example, not a statement about every province.

Government of Ontario (Ministry of Health): Apply for OHIP and get a health card

Questions before acting

What do official sources say about software engineer wages in Canada?

Job Bank's wage page for software engineers and designers (NOC 21231) lists a median of 56.49 ($/hour) for Canada and 56.73 for Ontario, with 2023-2024 as the reference period. This article does not convert that into yearly pay or into rupees.

Does this article compare Indian and Canadian salaries directly?

No. The wage figures come from Job Bank for Canada only. No comparable official Indian wage figure was used, so there is no multiplier and no currency conversion. The tax sections show the published 2026 brackets for Canada and Ontario and the new-regime slabs on India's portal.

Does Canada's public health insurance cover dental care and prescription drugs?

Health Canada's pages list dental care and prescription drugs among services that are not fully covered by the publicly funded system and that provinces and territories help fund for certain groups, such as seniors, children and people who receive social assistance. This article does not assess federal programmes. Canada.ca has a separate Canadian Dental Care Plan page, which this article does not assess for eligibility.

Corrections in this revision

The previous version included statements without sufficient direct support. This revision removes or corrects:

  • The old salary-by-profession table, with rupee equivalents and multipliers attributed to commercial salary sites: no official source and the currency conversions were unsupported; replaced by official Canadian hourly wage figures for three occupations, with no conversion.
  • The key takeaway and FAQ claims that Canadian salaries and living costs are many times higher than Indian ones: no official source; removed.
  • The introduction's worked example comparing a Bangalore salary with a Toronto salary in rupees: unsourced and based on a currency conversion; removed.
  • The monthly cost-of-living table for Mumbai, Bangalore, Toronto and Calgary (rent, groceries, transport, utilities, dining, phone, totals) and the related city-comparison claims: no official source; removed.
  • The net savings worked examples for Bangalore, Toronto and Calgary, with their take-home pay, expenses, monthly savings and savings multipliers: unsourced; removed.
  • The effective tax rate figures for Ontario, Alberta and India: effective rates are not published on the cited pages; replaced by the published federal, Ontario and India new-regime brackets, with no effective-rate calculation.
  • The old child-benefit figure for a child under six: differs from the current official amounts, which are used instead.
  • The remarks about registered retirement and tax-free savings accounts: not verified in this review; removed.
  • The claims about nationally rolled-out subsidised child care and a monthly daycare cost range: the federal page gives average fees by jurisdiction, and the cost range had no source; removed.
  • The hidden-cost figures (heating, winter clothing, private dental and vision insurance, specialist waiting times, credential assessment cost and duration): no official source; removed. What public health insurance does and does not fund is now taken from Health Canada.
  • The FAQ figures on senior engineer pay, purchasing power, immigrant median income, tech worker pay, time to wage parity, savings rates and city choice: no official source; removed.
  • The FAQ claim that Canadian taxes are higher than Indian ones in effective-rate terms: no official source; replaced by the published brackets, with no effective-rate comparison.
  • The blanket claim that Canadian universal healthcare does not cover dental, vision or prescription drugs: no longer stated as a blanket claim; reworded from Health Canada, which lists these as additional coverage for certain groups (see the health section). Federal programmes are not assessed.
  • The claim that Canada offers significant tax benefits that India does not: a comparative claim with no official source; removed.
  • The Data Sources list (general statistics portals) and the link to the Indian home ministry portal: they support no figure in the article; not used as sources.

Review scope: legal and financial statements in this revised article. Recheck on a provider, professional, immigration or tax-rule change; reuse of dated figures requires a new check.

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About the author

António Mira is the founder of whereTOemigrate. For over a decade he has worked at the intersection of Portuguese real estate and overseas business, helping international clients navigate the cross-border decisions that come with relocating. He sits on the board of CCIAP (Portuguese-Arab Chamber of Commerce), the Portuguese-Saudi Business Council, and the Portugal-Hong Kong Business Association — always with one focus: enabling overseas business and human mobility into and out of Portugal.

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