Poverty in Canada

Poverty in Canada refers to the state or condition in which a person or household lacks essential resources—financial or otherwise—to maintain a modest standard of living in their community.

Researchers and governments have used different metrics to measure poverty in Canada including Low-Income Cut-Off (LICO), Low Income Measure (LIM), and Market Basket Measure (MBM).[1] In November 2018, Employment and Social Development Canada announced the establishment of Canada's first Official Poverty Line to be based on the MBM. The MBM considers the cost of a basket of basic goods and services needed by a family of two adults and two children to maintain a modest standard of living.[2][3][4]

There was an increase in poverty in Canada and many other industrial nations in the 1980s.[5] By 2008, Canada's poverty rate was among the highest of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member nations—the wealthiest countries in the world.[6]

The number of people living below the official poverty line decreased substantially from 14.5% in 2015 to 10.1% in 2019,[7] and 6.4% in 2020.[4]

Child poverty in Canada declined since 2015, with the number of children who were living in poverty decreasing 71% by 2020. Child poverty has a disproportionately high effect on Indigenous households in Canada.[8] According to a 2019 study by researchers at the Assembly of First Nations and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA), nearly 50% of Indigenous children in Canada—both on and off reserve—were living in poverty.[8]

As of 2020, about 2.4 million Canadians, or 6.4% of the population, lived below the poverty line, according to Statistics Canada Canadian Income Survey, 2020 released on March 23, 2022.[4]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference HRSDC_2008 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Opportunity_for _all was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "The Daily — Canadian Income Survey, 2017". 26 February 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  4. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Canadian Income Survey, 2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kazemipur_20000301 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference OECD2008 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Canadian Income Survey, 2019". 23 March 2021. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  8. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Beedie_20190624 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).