Food Banks Canada has published its first ever national report card on poverty and it’s not looking good for all levels of government.
According to the organization’s poverty index, Canada scored a D+ overall when it comes to the elimination of poverty and food insecurity.
“All governments in Canada are proving quite frankly inadequate in their approach to poverty reduction across the board,” Food Banks Canada CEO Kristin Beardsley told CTV News.
“We need to see more action everywhere.”
To achieve its score, the organization relied on data and surveys that gauged Canadians’ experiences, poverty measurements, standard of living and levels of progress on eliminating poverty.
Overall Canada’s poor score stood out when it came to how many people said they were paying over 30% of their income on housing and Canadians expressing that they experience an inadequate standard of living.
“Housing has been among the top issues in Canada for several years. As the cost of housing skyrocketed through the pandemic, the situation went from bad to worse. Average rent prices in Canada are now over $2000 a month, representing an increase of more than 20% in the last two years,” wrote Food Banks Canada.
Out of the provinces, Quebec had the best score, coming in with a B- due to the province’s poverty reduction strategy, which was first introduced in 2002.
Quebec had the best score with regard to its poverty rate, social assistance as a percentage of the poverty line and a low food insecurity rate. However, it did score poorly in areas like percentage of income spent on housing and standard of living.
“When people living in Quebec were asked if they feel financially worse off than they did a year ago, they responded more positively than people anywhere else in the country, with 34% stating that they feel worse off,” reads the report.
Nova Scotia received the worst score in all of Canada with a grade of F due to high unemployment and a stagnant minimum wage, among other contributing factors.
“It has not only one of the highest unemployment rates in the country but also one of the highest food insecurity and poverty rates,” wrote Food Banks Canada.
“As fewer people work, more rely on social assistance programs and a fragile social safety net. In Nova Scotia, 12% of the population receives EI, which is double the national average.”
