Dimensions of Poverty Hub update, 2023-base Market Basket Measure
Released: 2025-11-07
Today, Statistics Canada is updating the Dimensions of Poverty Hub. The hub, sponsored by Employment and Social Development Canada, enables Canadians to track progress on poverty reduction. The updates include poverty statistics based on the new 2023-base Market Basket Measure (MBM).
The release of 2023-base MBM poverty estimates and thresholds marks the end of the third comprehensive review of the MBM. The 2023-base poverty thresholds are available back to 2020, covering a period when the poverty rate was increasing (6.8% in 2020 to 10.9% in 2023). Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, rising poverty rates were partly the result of market income increases being offset by decreases in government transfers related to pandemic relief programs, as well as the rising cost of living. The poverty rate trend under the 2023-base MBM is similar to the rate under the 2018-base MBM (6.4% in 2020 to 10.2% in 2023).
Poverty estimates for 2024 from the Canadian Income Survey (CIS) will use the 2023-base MBM methodology and will be available in early spring 2026. The 2024 CIS release will also feature a revision to new population estimates and geographical boundaries following the 2021 Census of Population. Users who are interested in tracking trends over longer periods (covering multiple MBM bases) are encouraged to use the MBM Poverty Index (also available on the Dimensions of Poverty Hub), which expresses change from a 2015 baseline. Going forward, future CIS releases will not contain any 2018-base MBM estimates.
The hub shines a light on the multifaceted nature of poverty. In addition to the headline MBM indicator, it features a dashboard of 12 additional indicators that track progress on other aspects of poverty, such as food insecurity; core housing need; and the share of youth not in employment, education or training. Similar to the income-based indicators of the dashboard, many of the non-income-based poverty indicators also began to worsen following the onset of the pandemic in 2020.
Note to readers
The hub provides links to more detailed data, analyses, infographics and performance indicators and will continue to be updated regularly as new data becomes available.
For more information on the third comprehensive review of the Market Basket Measure, please see, "The proposed methodology for the 2023-base Market Basket Measure of poverty," "What we heard report: Engagement activities for the third comprehensive review of the Market Basket Measure" and "Launch of the Third Comprehensive Review of the Market Basket Measure."
Products
Poverty thresholds using the 2023-base Market Basket Measure (MBM) are now available in tables 11-10-0066-01 and 11-10-0104-01.
Poverty estimates using the 2023-base MBM are now available in tables 11-10-0090-01, 11-10-0093-01, 11-10-0102-01, 11-10-0103-01, 11-10-0135-01 and 11-10-0136-01.
The infographic "Canada's Official Poverty Dashboard of Indicators: Trends, November 2025" is now 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; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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