A ROOM WITH A POINT OF VIEW

IT COULD TAKE 400 YEARS TO ELIMINATE CHILD POVERTY

 According to Canada’s official poverty measure, the Market Basket Measure, child poverty has more than doubled since 2020, reaching 10.7 per cent, or 802,000 children. Image credit: MEHRAB ZAHEDBEIJI on Unsplash.

From CAMPAIGN 2000

Child poverty in Canada is rising again, reversing years of progress and deepening hardship for families.

Using the most recent publicly available data, the latest national annual child and family report card, Investing In Tomorrow: A Future Without Poverty, found that child poverty increased for the third consecutive year, with nearly 30,000 more children falling into poverty. Rates are now approaching 2017 levels – at this pace it would take almost 400 years to eliminate child poverty.

 “The numbers may not have risen as sharply as in the previous two years, but the trend is unmistakably moving in the wrong direction,” said Leila Sarangi, National Director of Campaign 2000 and lead author of the report. “More children are in poverty and families are falling further behind. That means less income for basic needs and less stability for families. In an affordability crisis, that is unacceptable.”

 According to Canada’s official poverty measure, the Market Basket Measure, child poverty has more than doubled since 2020, reaching 10.7 per cent, or 802,000 children.

Using the broader Census Family Low Income Measure After Tax, that rate jumps to 18.3 per cent, or nearly 1.4 million children. Not all children and families experience poverty equally. Rates are higher for younger children, First Nation, Inuit and Métis children, racialized, newcomer children, those with disabilities, lone-parent families, and youth under 18 years who live independently.

 Of concern was the surge in the depth of poverty. This measure reflects how far below the poverty line family incomes fall. In 2023, families with children needed more than $15,000 to reach the low income threshold, a gap that has ballooned in recent years. Paid work alone was not enough to lift people out of poverty. More than 1.2 million adults were in working poverty, and the child poverty would have soared to 30 per cent when looking at market income alone. While families in the bottom of the income spectrum were getting poorer, those in the top 10 per cent saw income gains, now earning more than 19 times the income of families in the bottom decile.

 The erosion of supports is leaving families behind. The Canada Child Benefit remains a critical poverty reduction program. In 2023, it protected more than 580,000 children from falling into poverty, but its effectiveness has weakened, marking the lowest child poverty reduction since the program’s first full year of implementation in 2017. At the same time, rising costs are eroding the purchasing power, especially for low income families, who spend a disproportionately large share of their income on essentials. The report identifies gaps in child care expansion, inequities in the child welfare system, and persistent systemic barriers that disproportionately harm marginalized communities.

Leila Sarangi is the National Director of Campaign 2000 and lead author of the latest national annual child and family report card.

The report sets out clear a path forward, calling for a rights-based national strategy and recommendations:

Strengthen Canada’s poverty reduction plan with clear targets, timelines, and dedicated funding.

Boost the Canada Child Benefit with a CCB End Poverty Supplement to restore its effectiveness.

Increase public investment in child care, housing, health and mental-health services.

Align wages and income supports so working families are lifted above the poverty line.

Address systemic discrimination in income supports and public services.

Reduce income and wealth inequality through progressive tax reform.

 “Canada has shown that major reductions in poverty are possible – and quickly,” said Sarangi. “We can end child poverty, but only with decisive policy action now.”

Provincial and territorial compendium report cards were also released.