Excerpts from introduction
For 30 years, Campaign 2000 has been monitoring the state of child and family poverty in Canada. In the lead up to the federal election, Campaign 2000 has mapped the prevalence of child poverty by federal riding from coast to coast to coast. The interactive map, produced in partnership with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, and this corresponding report is the second update to the initial 2015 report. Using the most recent data available, this interactive map shows the rate of child poverty by federal electoral district along with socio-economic indicators, allowing users to get a snapshot of state of child poverty by federal riding. Readers can also view demographic characteristics that are associated with high poverty rates in each riding.
This update shows that while there is an important trend downwards in the rate of child poverty across the country since 2015, a significant number of children remain in poverty in every federal riding across Canada. The latest data continue to paint a stark portrait of inequality with high- and low-income families living in close proximity while divided by wide social and economic gaps that leave too many children hungry, sick and stressed beyond what is expected or acceptable for children.
Federal ridings with the highest levels of child and family poverty are home to a higher proportion of Indigenous, racialized and immigrant community members and lone parent-led families. This correlation signals the persistence of discrimination and systemic inequalities that drive higher unemployment, lower labour market participation rates and higher proportions of renters and people spending more than 30% of their income on housing.
The presence of child and family poverty in every riding in Canada demands for it to be a priority issue for every party this election, with a commitment to strong and decisive federal action. Clearly, every community, every candidate and all political parties have a stake in the eradication of poverty.