Low income and inequality

Description: This study uses the 2022 Portrait of Canadian Society Survey to examine the impact of rising inflation on the lowest income Canadians. Using multiple pre-pandemic data sources, the study also takes a closer look at people living in the bottom income quintile, examining their family income, debt and assets levels, as well as some indicators of economic hardship.

Description: Release published in The Daily – Statistics Canada’s official release bulletin

Description: This infographic uses data from the 2022 Portrait of Canadian Society Survey to examine the impact of rising inflation on the lowest income Canadians. It also uses multiple pre-pandemic data sources to present personal characteristics, family income, net worth levels and poverty rate of Canadians in the bottom income quintile.

Description: Proportion of the population living: in a dwelling owned by some members of the household; in core housing need and; in suitable dwelling, proportion of the population living alone, poverty rate (MBM), prevalence of low income (LIM-AT) and (LIM-BT), knowledge of official languages, by visible minority and selected characteristics (gender, age group, first official language spoken, immigrant status, period of immigration, generation status and highest certificate, degree or diploma).

Description:

This paper announces the release of the official Market Basket Measure (MBM) poverty thresholds for the 2021 reference year and provisional poverty thresholds for the 2022 reference year. In addition, it describes the role the Consumer Prices Indexes (CPIs) play in the annual updating of the MBM thresholds. It concludes by using the MBM thresholds' growth rates to help provide a signal as to whether poverty rates could rise or fall from 2020.

Description:

Market Basket Measure (MBM) thresholds for the reference family by MBM region and base year. Total thresholds as well as thresholds for the food, clothing, transportation, shelter and other expenses components are presented, in current and constant dollars, annual.

Description:

This discussion paper introduces three income inequality indicators and presents estimates obtained by applying these indicators to the Canadian Income Survey (CIS) data using the 2018-base MBM methodology. It provides the opportunity to gage the interest of including these three indicators into the current suite of income inequality indicators to facilitate the analysis of existing disparities and obstacles to income equality.

Description:

As the tenth goal outlined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Canada and other UN member states have committed to reduce inequalities within and among countries by 2030. This 2022 infographic provides an overview of indicators underlying the tenth Sustainable Development Goal in support of reduced inequalities, and the statistics and data sources used to monitor and report on this goal in Canada.

Description:

This technical paper describes how the cost for "other necessities" is estimated in the 2018-base MBM. It provides a brief overview of the theory and application of techniques for estimating costs of "other necessities" in poverty lines and deconstructs the 2018-base MBM other necessities component to provide insights on how it is constructed. The aim of this paper is to provide a more detailed understanding of how the other necessities component of the MBM is estimated.

Description:

This table provides statistics on year-over-year low-income transitions, including low income entry and exit rates, low income resistance, and low income immobility rates among Canadian taxfilers. The low income measure (LIM) is used to identify low income taxfilers. The LIM threshold is calculated as half of the median of the adjusted family after-tax income of all taxfilers and their family members. This table uses two different types of LIM: the variable LIM is based on the median total income re-calculated year, while the fixed LIM is based on the median total income in 2002 adjusted yearly by the all-items Consumer Price Index.

Description: Proportion of the population living: in a dwelling owned by some members of the household; in core housing need and; in suitable dwelling, proportion of the population living alone, poverty rate (MBM), prevalence of low income (LIM-AT) and (LIM-BT), knowledge of official languages, by visible minority and selected characteristics (gender, age group, first official language spoken, immigrant status, period of immigration, generation status and highest certificate, degree or diploma).

Description:

Market Basket Measure (MBM) thresholds for the reference family by MBM region and base year. Total thresholds as well as thresholds for the food, clothing, transportation, shelter and other expenses components are presented, in current and constant dollars, annual.

Description:

This table provides statistics on year-over-year low-income transitions, including low income entry and exit rates, low income resistance, and low income immobility rates among Canadian taxfilers. The low income measure (LIM) is used to identify low income taxfilers. The LIM threshold is calculated as half of the median of the adjusted family after-tax income of all taxfilers and their family members. This table uses two different types of LIM: the variable LIM is based on the median total income re-calculated year, while the fixed LIM is based on the median total income in 2002 adjusted yearly by the all-items Consumer Price Index.

Description:

This table provides information on the number of years in low income over an eight-year period among Canadian taxfilers. The years in low-income may or may not be adjacent to each other. The low income measure (LIM) is used to identify low income taxfilers. The LIM threshold is calculated as half of the median of the adjusted family after-tax income of all taxfilers and their family members. This table uses two different types of LIM: the variable LIM is based on the median total income re-calculated each year, while the fixed LIM is based on the median total income in 2002 adjusted yearly by the all-items Consumer Price Index.

Description:

This table contains statistics that describe the duration of low income spells experienced by Canadian taxfilers in an eight-year period. A low income spell refers to a period in which a person stays in low income. It can last one year or several years consecutively. The length of the spell is referred to as its duration and is measured in years. The low income measure (LIM) is used to identify low income taxfilers. The LIM threshold is calculated as half of the median of the adjusted family after-tax income of all taxfilers and their family members. This table uses two different types of LIM: the variable LIM is based on the median total income re-calculated each year, while the fixed LIM is based on the median total income in 2002 adjusted yearly by the all-items Consumer Price Index.

Description:

Characteristics related to previous employment, receipt of social assistance and low-income status among people who overdosed in Simcoe Muskoka between 2018 and 2019, by sex and overdose status.

Description: Individual poverty status using the Market Basket Measure (MBM) by family characteristics (couple, one-parent, presence of children).

Description: Individual poverty status using Market Basket Measure (MBM) by family characteristics, age, and gender for Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions.

Description: Individual poverty status using Market Basket Measure (MBM) by family characteristics, age, and gender for census metropolitan areas, tracted census agglomerations and census tracts.

Description: Individual poverty status using Market Basket Measure (MBM) by visible minority groups, age, and gender.

Description: This study uses the 2022 Portrait of Canadian Society Survey to examine the impact of rising inflation on the lowest income Canadians. Using multiple pre-pandemic data sources, the study also takes a closer look at people living in the bottom income quintile, examining their family income, debt and assets levels, as well as some indicators of economic hardship.

Description: Release published in The Daily – Statistics Canada’s official release bulletin

Description: This infographic uses data from the 2022 Portrait of Canadian Society Survey to examine the impact of rising inflation on the lowest income Canadians. It also uses multiple pre-pandemic data sources to present personal characteristics, family income, net worth levels and poverty rate of Canadians in the bottom income quintile.

Description:

This paper announces the release of the official Market Basket Measure (MBM) poverty thresholds for the 2021 reference year and provisional poverty thresholds for the 2022 reference year. In addition, it describes the role the Consumer Prices Indexes (CPIs) play in the annual updating of the MBM thresholds. It concludes by using the MBM thresholds' growth rates to help provide a signal as to whether poverty rates could rise or fall from 2020.

Description:

This discussion paper introduces three income inequality indicators and presents estimates obtained by applying these indicators to the Canadian Income Survey (CIS) data using the 2018-base MBM methodology. It provides the opportunity to gage the interest of including these three indicators into the current suite of income inequality indicators to facilitate the analysis of existing disparities and obstacles to income equality.

Description:

As the tenth goal outlined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Canada and other UN member states have committed to reduce inequalities within and among countries by 2030. This 2022 infographic provides an overview of indicators underlying the tenth Sustainable Development Goal in support of reduced inequalities, and the statistics and data sources used to monitor and report on this goal in Canada.

Description:

This technical paper describes how the cost for "other necessities" is estimated in the 2018-base MBM. It provides a brief overview of the theory and application of techniques for estimating costs of "other necessities" in poverty lines and deconstructs the 2018-base MBM other necessities component to provide insights on how it is constructed. The aim of this paper is to provide a more detailed understanding of how the other necessities component of the MBM is estimated.

Description:

This Census in Brief article focuses on the experiences of poverty in Canada based on data from the 2021 Census. It examines disaggregated poverty trends by age, gender, family situation, immigration status as well as by Indigenous identity and for racialized groups. When possible, comparisons are made to data from the 2016 Census.

Description: Release published in The Daily – Statistics Canada’s official release bulletin

Description:

This technical paper describes the results of the review period, including small adjustments to the disposable income amounts used in the discussion paper Construction of a Northern Market Basket Measure (MBM-N) of poverty for Yukon and the Northwest Territories. It also marks the end of the review period for the MBM-N for Yukon and the Northwest Territories by presenting the latest poverty estimates for reference year 2020.

Description:

From September 2018 through April 2019, Statistics Canada conducted a broad consultation on the Market Basket Measure (MBM). This paper will describe the consultations that took place, give highlights of what Statistics Canada heard, and describe next steps.

Description:

The Canadian Index of Multiple Deprivation (CIMD) is an area-based index which used 2016 Census of Population microdata to measure four key dimensions of deprivation at the dissemination area (DA)-level: residential instability, economic dependency, situational vulnerability and ethno-cultural composition.

The CIMD allows for an understanding of inequalities in various measures of health and social well-being. While it is a geographically-based index of deprivation and marginalization, it can also be used as a proxy for an individual. The CIMD has the potential to be widely used by researchers on a variety of topics related to socio-economic research. Other uses for the index may include: policy planning and evaluation, or resource allocation.

Description:

The User Guide for the Canadian Index of Multiple Deprivation (CIMD) outlines uses for the index, as well as it provides a brief description of the methodology behind the development of the index. This User Guide also provides instructions on how to use the index, and lists considerations when using the CIMD data.

Description:

This note discusses revised income estimates from the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID). These revisions to the SLID estimates make it possible to compare results from the Canadian Income Survey (CIS) to earlier years. The revisions address the issue of methodology differences between SLID and CIS.

Description:

This report summarizes the comments received in response to a discussion paper on low income cut-offs released in January 2000.

Description:

This paper describes the issues around updating the low income cut-offs as well as Statistics Canada's findings and proposes a course of action.

Description:

Recently there has been extensive and recurring media coverage of Statistics Canada's low income cut-offs and their relationship to the measurement of poverty. At the heart of the debate is the use of the low income cut-offs as poverty lines even though Statistics Canada has clearly stated, since their publication began over 25 years ago, that they are not. The high profile recently given this issue has presented Statistics Canada with a welcome opportunity to restate its position on these issues, views which seem to have become lost in the debate.

Description:

This working presents the nature and uses of the geographic structure used by the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID) and explains how statistics on low income are dependent on geographical concepts. It also describes the methodology for deriving geographic data for the Wave 1 (1993 reference year) SLID files, and improvements made for the Wave 2 (1994 reference year) release.

Description: The purpose of this survey was to provide data for estimating income distributions by size for individuals and families.

Description: This survey was conducted to provide data on cross-sectional income for the Canadian population and data on low income families in Canada.