BREAKING Average hourly wage in Canada now $34.95: StatCan
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees rose to $34.95 on a year-over-year basis in April, a 4.7 per cent increase, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday morning.
The once-tiny cottage industry of van conversion companies has found itself in the center of a distinctively pandemic-era dilemma: ravenous demand and monthslong backorders on virtually all supplies.
The #vanlife movement was already in full swing before the pandemic, fueled by envy-inducing posts on Instagram and DIY van conversion videos on YouTube. But as the pandemic took hold, more and more antsy Americans who could work remotely decided to join the vanlife community.
That's sent demand for utility vans, as well as the companies that specialize in converting them into mobile homes, through the roof.
The pandemic put the van life industry on "steroids," Brian Jagodnik, marketing and creative director at Outside Van, a luxury van conversion company in Portland, Oregon, told CNN Business.
The #vanlife hashtag now has more than 10.6 million posts on Instagram.
"People wanted to get out. They wanted to get away from other people and stay safe, and we were all limited in what we could do," Jagodnik said. "It pushed people outside and to travel away from others and take the road less traveled, and so the industry just continued to grow."
Since the start of the lockdown, Outside Vans has a growing backlog of orders and a growing waitlist. Customers can expect to wait at least eight to 12 months before the company can even start on their projects.
It's one thing to decide to hit the road. It's another to find the right wheels for the trip. The auto industry has been hit especially hard by the one-two punch of a shortage of vital computer chips that's hampered production. Some clients couldn't get a van in time to meet the date their builds were scheduled to start, said Alexa Owens, co-founder of Cascade Custom Vans in Bend, Oregon. "That was kind of nerve-wracking."
Another culprit in the struggle to secure vans: Amazon. As sales surged during pandemic lockdowns, the online retailer kept expanding its fleet to keep up with deliveries. And unfortunately, Amazon's preferred models — Mercedes Sprinters, Ford Transits or RAM ProMasters — are the most popular choices for vanlifers.
Even when customers secured a van, delays at ports combined with a labour shortage have slowed the delivery of raw materials needed for the conversions.
For Cascade Vans, one of the worst shortages has been windows, which are three months to eight months backordered, Owens said. Cascade, which is fully booked through the year, anticipates at least another year of supply shortages while vendors play catch-up.
A typical van conversion starts starts by gutting a utility van before replacing the interior with the makings of a mobile home: loft beds, mini sinks, toilets, refrigerators and built-in seating.
It's not a cheap endeavor. "With costs of goods going up, our prices have to reflect that," lamented Bryan Walker, co-owner of Cascade. "It's one of those unfortunate things but I think a lot of people are understanding of it right now."
Prices for just the conversion at Cascade can range between $50,000 to $100,000. At Outside Van, where the company purchases the vans for its customers, prices can reach up to $300,000, depending on the customizations a customer chooses. Not included in those figures: the price of gas, which is currently at a seven-year high, and any mechanical issues that come up along the way.
While growing interest in van life, and camping generally, has been great for business, it also has raised questions about the movement's sustainability and effect on the environment. The surge in demand has been "bittersweet," says Walker, who owns a van with Owens.
"Five, six, seven years ago, some of the places we'd go, you'd be up there alone. Now, there's no trespassing signs, and they've banned camping in a lot of places because it's just gotten so trashed," Walker said. "You see the places that you love and get to experience doing that lifestyle, and now you're seeing it become kind of exploited."
During the pandemic, the number of people at National Parks and campsites shot through the roof resulting in an increase of litter, graffiti and the spread of COVID-19, according to reporting from Time. Although the parks have tried to implement restrictions, tourists managed to continue visiting and ignoring restrictions.
Kim and Jesse Butler of Port Angeles, Washington moved into their Ram PROMaster, named "The Walter Mitty," right before the pandemic started. They have since traveled traveled up and down the West Coast, pandemic restrictions permitting.
The Butlers say they are "totally self contained," and don't leave sewage or trash behind.
"We always do our best to leave no trace and to make sure that we are clean with what we do," Jesse told CNN Business.
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees rose to $34.95 on a year-over-year basis in April, a 4.7 per cent increase, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday morning.
A 4.2-magnitude earthquake was recorded west of Vancouver Island early Friday morning.
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Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
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Toronto police say a man who allegedly attempted to access Drake’s Bridle Path property was taken to hospital on Thursday after an altercation with security guards.
If you're cruising down a highway and realize you have a flat tire, you may want to think twice before stopping to fix it on the side of the road.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
The stakes have been set for a bet between Vancouver and Edmonton's mayors on who will win Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
A grieving mother is hosting a helmet drive in the hopes of protecting children on Manitoba First Nations from a similar tragedy that killed her daughter.
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
A P.E.I. lighthouse and a New Brunswick river are being honoured in a Canada Post series.