Poverty in Canada

Poverty in Canada remains prevalent within some segments of society. There is no official government measure for poverty in Canada. The measure of poverty, or absolute measure of poverty, is more valid. The new 2011 book Poverty in Canada: Implications for Health and Quality of Life provides an overview of the Canadian scene.

Currently, an income inequality measure known as low income cut-off published by Statistics Canada is frequently used as a poverty rate and is 10.8% as of 2005. It is used by statistics collators like the Central Intelligence Agency in lieu of an official measure, noting that a relative measure results in a higher poverty figure than an absolute one. The Fraser Institute, a conservative think-tank, alleges that the federal Canadian government exaggerates poverty rates, and publishes their own measure, known as the basic needs poverty measure. According to this measure, poverty has declined significantly over the past 60 years and is 4.9% as of 2004. Statistics Canada has refused to endorse any metric as a measure of poverty, including the low-income cut off it publishes, without a mandate to do so from the federal government.

Some elements that work towards reducing poverty in Canada include Canada's strong economic growth, government transfers to persons of $164 billion per annum as of 2008, universal medical and public education systems, and minimum wage laws in each of the provinces and territories of Canada.

In recent times, after a spike in poverty and low-income rates around the 1996 recession, relative poverty has continued to decline. Certain groups experience higher low-income rates. These include children, families with single-parent mothers, aboriginals, the mentally ill, the physically handicapped, recent immigrants, and students.