Poverty rate holding steady at 11 per cent, well above 2020 levels

OTTAWA — Statistics Canada says the country’s poverty rate barely budged in 2024, remaining more than 50 per cent above 2020 levels.

The agency says 11 per cent of Canadians — about 4.5 million people — lived in poverty in 2024 versus 11.1 per cent in 2023 and seven per cent in 2020.

It says Nunavut recorded the highest poverty rate at 31.7 per cent due to the high cost of living in much of the North, followed by British Columbia at 13 per cent and Ontario at 12.5 per cent.

As in previous years, Quebec notched the lowest poverty rate at seven per cent.

The agency says racialized groups, Indigenous peoples and Canadians living with disabilities continue to experience higher levels of poverty.

Statistics Canada calculates the poverty rate based on the proportion of people who cannot afford the cost of a specific basket of goods and services in their community, after adjusting for family size.

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