4 Million Canadians Live Below Poverty Line, Number Continues to Go Up: StatCan

A customer browses an aisle at a grocery store in Toronto on Feb. 2, 2024. The Canadian Press/Cole Burston

About 4 million Canadians were living below the poverty line in 2023, as the number continued to rise for three consecutive years, according to recent data released by Statistics Canada.

The Canadian Income Survey 2023 published on May 1 measured income among various Canadian households for that year, including single parents and seniors.

It found that about 10.2 percent of Canadians lived below the poverty line in 2023. That rate was 9.9 in 2022, and 10.3 percent in 2019, as first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter.

Moreover, StatCan said that nearly half of single-parent families lived with food insecurity (47.8 percent).

Single Canadians not considered seniors were also at a high risk of food insecurity (31.7 percent), according to StatCan.

The survey found that the median after-tax income for Canadians was $74,200 in 2023, when adjusted for inflation. That number was 1.2 percent higher than the previous year, which was $73,300.

In comparison, median market income—the income people earn before government benefits are included—was $68,700 in 2023, a 1.5 percent increase from 2022 when it was $67,700, the survey said.

For those considered to be in “senior families,” the median after-tax income increased by 3.4 percent from 2022 to $79,700. For single seniors, it increased by 4.3 percent to $36,400.

When government benefits are taken out of the mix, the median income for senior families increased by 5 percent in 2023 to $52,100. Single seniors saw a 9.3 percent increase in median market income to $16,500.

Provincial Poverty Statistics

Those living in Nova Scotia, Alberta, and Ontario had their median after-tax income increase by 3.5 percent, 2.9 percent, and 1.4 percent respectively. However, it declined 2.8 percent for residents of Saskatchewan.

In other provinces and territories, the median after-tax income was relatively unchanged, StatCan said.

The province of Quebec continued to have the lowest poverty rate for 2023 at 7.4 percent, according to the report. However, that number increased 0.8 percent from the previous year.

Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan both had the highest poverty rates at 12.9 percent each. It was a 1.8 percent increase from 2022 for Saskatchewan, while Nova Scotia’s rate was relatively unchanged.

In the territories, the poverty rate remained stable at 22.8 percent, but was more than double the nationwide average for 2023.

StatCan said that while incomes in the territories were larger, residents also faced a high cost of living.

Residents in Nunavut reported the highest poverty rate at 43.4 percent, followed by those in the Northwest Territories at 17 percent, and Yukon at 9.9 percent, the survey said.

Food Insecurity Data

StatCan said that in 2023, about 10 million people, or 25.5 percent of the population of the provinces, were experiencing food insecurity. That was 1.3 million more than the previous year. It was the third consecutive annual increase.

The percentage of those who were “marginally food insecure” was 6.4 percent, which was relatively stable compared to previous years, StatCan said.

Those who were categorized as moderately or severely food insecure increased to 12.4 percent and 6.7 percent respectively.

While single-parent homes and single non-seniors were at the highest risk of food insecurity, those at a lower risk were senior families at 12.6 percent, and specifically senior couples at 8.7 percent. Single seniors were also less likely to have food insecurity at 14.3 percent.