WINNIPEG — As the cost of living continues to increase, many Canadians are looking for new sources of income.
Enter “sugar daddies” — wealthy men willing to help bankroll the future of young “sugar babies.”
SeekingArrangement.com, a Las Vegas-based website, has seen membership in Canada increase by 33 per cent over the past year.
“A girl wants to be a princess, wants to be taken care of, and a guy wants to have a beautiful girl on his arm who is strong and ambitious,” said website spokeswoman Brook Urick.
The website helps link sugar babies with sugar daddies for mutually beneficial arrangements. The women receive negotiated allowances that range widely but can hit more than $10,000 a month.
In Canada, the average monthly allowance is $2,615. However, when you hit a major market like Toronto, that number jumps to $4,898.
In Manitoba, a sugar baby pulls in an average of $1,425 a month.
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“I’ve had all different kinds of arrangements,” said Alysse, a sugar baby Global News agreed to identify only by her first name.
Alysse, 21, has been using the site since she turned 18.
“I’ve had an arrangement with a gay man who just wanted someone to appear in public with him,” she said. “In exchange, he gave me an allowance. I’ve had couples approach me, I’ve had an arrangement with a married man — his wife and kids did not know.”
Due to a persistent health condition, Alysse said,, her sole source of income currently comes from her arrangements.
“I’ve been offered trips, jewelry, shopping,” said Alysse. “The apartment I live in is paid for completely. Any extra costs that I have to living is also covered.”
The website has had backlash in the past,with some referring to it as a form of prostitution.
“Prostitution is illegal and it’s illegal on our site,” said Urick. “No escorts are permitted and we take a lot of measures to get them off the site before they join.”
Alysse said she does not sleep with her sugar daddy but rather looks for a mentor, someone to help with her future.
In Canada, there are 203,081 active members on the Seeking Arrangement website compared to 37,216 sugar daddies and just 2,457 sugar mommies.
“I wasn’t sure when I went on the site what it was going to be and who I was going to meet,” said ‘Tyler.’
Tyler is the name Global News is using for one sugar daddy who wants to remain anonymous. He is in his 40s and married with two kids.
“I think part of the reasons I went on was a little bit of drama and a little bit of excitement at meeting other people,” he said.
The Winnipegger said the arrangements he has ended up in turned out to be mentorships, not relationships. He has helped some of the women find apartments and jobs and even paid off debt for them.
He refused to disclose how much money he has spent on the women.
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