Dimensions of Poverty Hub, September 2020 (update)
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Released: 2020-09-08
Today, Statistics Canada is updating the Dimensions of Poverty Hub. The Hub, sponsored by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), enables Canadians to track progress on poverty reduction. The updates include poverty statistics based upon the new 2018-base Market Basket Measure (MBM).
The release of 2018-base MBM poverty estimates and 2018-base MBM thresholds for reference years 2015 to 2018 marks the end of the second comprehensive review of the MBM. In addition, for the first time in today's release, selected 2018-base MBM statistics have been "back cast" to 2012 using a statistical technique.
The poverty hub shines a light on the multifaceted nature of poverty
In Canada, some dimensions of poverty have improved in recent years. For example, the percentage of people living in poverty (11.0% in 2018, down from 14.5% in 2015) and those living in deep income poverty (5.4% in 2018, down from 7.4% in 2015) has declined.
However, some other indicators have not improved. For example, the average poverty gap, which measures the average shortfall below Canada's Official Poverty Line for those living in poverty, has changed little, reaching 33.4% in 2018, up from 31.8% in 2015. This means that while poverty has become less common, people who remain in poverty have not seen their situation improve.
Note to readers
The Dimensions of Poverty Hub features data, analysis, infographics and performance indicators, and will continue to be updated regularly as new data become available. The information can be used to examine, for example, how many Canadians live below Canada's Official Poverty Line as measured by the Market Basket Measure (MBM), and how that number changes over time. The Hub also includes information on other aspects of poverty such as food insecurity, core housing need, and the share of youth not in employment, education or training. While this information does not yet reflect the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, it does provide useful insights on groups that were most at risk prior to the pandemic and will serve as a baseline for measuring the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the various aspects of poverty in the future.
More information on the new 2018-base MBM are available in "An Update on the Market Basket Measure Comprehensive Review," "Towards an update of the Market Basket," "Defining disposable income in the Market Basket Measure" and "Report on the second comprehensive review of the Market Basket Measure."
Products
Poverty statistics, using the 2018-base Market Basket Measure (MBM), are now available in tables 11-10-0135-01 and 11-10-0136-01. The 2018-base MBM thresholds are also available.
Updated data can be found on the Dimensions of Poverty Hub.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@canada.ca) or Media Relations (613-951-4636; STATCAN.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.STATCAN@canada.ca).
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