Yellowknife (Feb 25/04) - The typical complaint heard since the settling of this city 70 years ago -- other than about the bugs and long, winter nights -- has always been that Yellowknife is a terribly expensive place to live.

Pat Winter, co-owner of Yellowknife Home Hardware, says buying fresh milk as a kid was a luxury. - Mike W. Bryant/NNSL photo

For the first few decades, the only way to get food and supplies into Yellowknife was by barge and airplane.

Pat Winter remembers a time growing up in 1950s when buying fresh produce was a luxury her family couldn't always afford.

"In the summer they used to bring in a lot of canned goods by barge, but all the fresh goods had to be flown in," said Winter. "We couldn't afford fresh milk.

"We had to drink tri-milk," she said referring to the old dairy substitute which required you to add three parts water.

"Food is quite a bit cheaper today."

Yellowknife has experienced a number of dramatic changes over the decades which brought prices down almost overnight on everything from lumber to kids' toys.

The completion of the Mackenzie Highway in 1961 meant goods could roll in by truck. In the late 1980s, the introduction of large retail chain stores -- other than the old Northern standby, the Hudson's Bay Company -- brought prices down even further.

Former Mayor Pat McMahon's main election platform in 1988 was to bring the so-called "big box" stores to Yellowknife.

While some have derided her aim as anti-small business, McMahon insists it was the only way Yellowknife could hope to prosper and grow.

"That was the main thing, it was going to bring Yellowknife into the 21st Century and give Yellowknifers a choice," said McMahon.

"The regular stores we had didn't buy in bulk, and they didn't have access to the bulk buying the way the big chain stores have."

The statistics practically speak for themselves.

"It lowered the prices of a lot of things so people were able to make their dollar go a little farther."

Costs are rising much slower in Yellowknife than in most other Canadian cities. While Canada on average saw the consumer price index rise by almost 23 per cent since 1992, prices in Yellowknife rose by only 18 per cent.

And while costs are levelling off, income is going up. Yellowknife residents had an average personal income of $45,975 in 2001 -- up from $23,329 in 1983 -- according to the NWT Bureau of Statistics. And according to 2003 Statistics Canada, NWT workers, by far, are the highest paid in the country at $891 per week. The Canadian average is only $693.37 per week.

While buying a home in Yellowknife is still an expensive proposition, Ken Pearman, a real estate agent at Coldwell Banker Northern Bestsellers, said high incomes and lower interest rates are making it easier.

With interest rates under five per cent, Pearman said it's never been easier, even if the average home for sale in Yellowknife is still in the $200,000 range.

"The good news is there is an adequate source of really cheap mortgaging money," he said.

Many people now buying homes are first-time home buyers. They account for approximately 30 per cent of buyers today.

"Rents are high," he said. "You can almost buy as cheap as you can rent."

Joan Hirons, owner of Island Bed and Breakfast, said she bought her home and business on a line of credit.

During the six years she has lived in Yellowknife operating the establishment -- other than her utility bills -- the city is definitely cheaper than it use to be.

For someone needing to have breakfast ready for several hungry guests every morning, lower retail costs make a big difference.

"The food I've noticed, especially with that new (Extra Foods) store opening is less expensive," she said.

"Bananas have dropped dramatically. Also the wholesale place, orange juice and things I use a lot of, it's very useful having that.

"(Single serving) orange juice is $1.48 if you buy them individually, but if you buy a case they're 98 cents each."