Wilfrid Youbi Fansi is upping his housing budget by a third as he prepares for the first day of university classes.

When he first moved from Fort McMurray to Edmonton in 2021 to study at MacEwan University, he paid $500 a month to rent a room. He later moved to a new place, paying $600 a month, but this September, he's making the jump to a room in a home with shared common spaces for $800 per month.

He said he usually works three jobs during the school year to keep himself out of student debt and…