Canada's Official Poverty Dashboard of Indicators: Trends, May 2023
Release date: May 9, 2023
Description: Canada's Official Poverty Dashboard of Indicators: Trends, May 2023
| Year | Rate |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 14.5 |
| 2016 | 12.9 |
| 2017 | 11.9 |
| 2018 | 11.2 |
| 2019 | 10.3 |
| 2020 | 6.4 |
| 2021 | 7.4 |
Canada’s Poverty Reduction Strategy introduced the Official Poverty Line for Canada and dashboard of 12 Indicators to track progress on poverty reduction for Canadians and their households.
| Indicator | Most recent value | Previous value | Trend | Percentage change | Reference periods |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dignity | |||||
| Deep income poverty (Persons whose family disposable income is below 75% of Canada's Official Poverty Line) | 3.60% | 3.00% | Up | 20.00% | 2020 to 2021 |
| Unmet housing needs and chronic homelessness - Unmet housing needs | 10.10% | 12.70% | Down | -20.50% | 2016 to 2021 |
| Unmet health needs (Persons 16 years and older who reported not receiving health care when they felt they needed it) | 7.90% | 7.20% | Up | 9.70% | 2020 to 2021 |
| Food insecurity (Persons living in households that reported moderate or severe food insecurity) | 12.90% | 11.20% | Up | 15.20% | 2020 to 2021 |
| Opportunity and Inclusion | |||||
| Relative low income (Persons living in households whose median after-tax income falls below half the median after-tax income) | 10.60% | 9.30% | Up | 14.00% | 2020 to 2021 |
| Bottom 40 percent income share (Share of total after-tax income held by the 40% of the population at the bottom of the income distribution) | 21.80% | 22.20% | Down | -1.80% | 2020 to 2021 |
| Youth engagement (Persons aged 15 to 24 who were not in employment, education or training) | 9.60% | 11.30% | Down | -15.00% | 2021 to 2022 |
| Literacy and numeracy - Low literacy (15-year-olds) | 13.80% | 10.70% | Up | 29.00% | 2015 to 2018 |
| Literacy and numeracy - Low numeracy (15-year-olds) | 16.30% | 14.40% | Up | 13.20% | 2015 to 2018 |
| Resilience and Security | |||||
| Median hourly wage - All | $27.00 | $27.76 | Down | -2.70% | 2021 to 2022 |
| Median hourly wage - Women | $25.00 | $26.12 | Down | -4.30% | 2021 to 2022 |
| Median hourly wage - Men | $29.87 | $30.27 | Down | -1.30% | 2021 to 2022 |
| Average poverty gap (Average shortfall below Canada’s Official Poverty Line for those living in poverty, expressed as a percentage of the poverty line) | 31.6% | 31.70% | Down | -0.30% | 2020 to 2021 |
| Asset resilience (People who are able to cover unexpected expenses, or reduced income, by drawing from assets (e.g., a bank account) for a period of three months) | 67.1% | 66.60% | Up | 0.80% | 2016 to 2019 |
| Low income entry and exit rates - Entry rates (All persons) | 3.1% | 3.90% | Down | -20.50% | 2018/2019 to 2019/2020 |
| Low income entry and exit rates - Exit rates (Persons in low income) | 42.0% | 29.50% | Up | 42.40% | 2018/2019 to 2019/2020 |
Note:
- Canada’s Official Poverty Dashboard is updated as new data become available. The indicators that are based on the Market Basket Measure (MBM) use the 2018 base.
- The concepts and dimensions of poverty are defined in detail in Opportunity for All – Canada's First Poverty Reduction Strategy.
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