Sustainable Development Goal 1: No poverty

Canadian ambition: No poverty

Canada’s ambition^{Footnote 2} for SDG 1 is to reduce poverty in Canada in all its forms. Canada’s targets, based on Canada’s Official Poverty Line, are:

a 20% reduction in poverty by 2020
a 50% reduction in poverty by 2030, relative to 2015 levels

This will lead to the lowest poverty rate in Canada’s history.

The latest-available official poverty rate data from the 2021 Canadian Income Survey (CIS), released on May 1, 2023, shows that between 2015 and 2021, over 2.3 million Canadians were lifted out of poverty and that the poverty rate decreased by 49% during this period.

Measuring progress: the Canadian Indicator Framework

In collaboration with federal departments and agencies, Statistics Canada has developed the Canadian Indicator Framework (CIF) for the Sustainable Development Goals. The CIF includes 76 indicators specific to Canada, which measure progress using a set of nationally relevant, objective and comprehensive indicators. CIF indicators for SDG 1 are:

poverty rate, as measured by Canada's Official Poverty Line
prevalence of asset resilience, as measured by the proportion of people who have enough liquid financial assets to cover at least 3 months of the after-tax low income measure

What we are doing to reduce poverty in Canada

The Government of Canada released Opportunity for All - Canada's First Poverty Reduction Strategy in 2018. The Poverty Reduction Act, which received Royal Assent in June 2019, entrenches:

poverty reduction targets
Canada's Official Poverty Line
the National Advisory Council on Poverty into law

This strategy seeks to reduce and remove systemic barriers, including for those communities that face unique barriers that can make them more vulnerable to poverty. For example:

single parents (80% of whom are women)
single people aged 45 to 64
persons with disabilities
newcomers
Indigenous peoples
individuals from Black or other racialized communities, and
individuals from the LGBTQ2+ community (in particular transgender individuals)

The primary legislated target of the Strategy is aligned with SDG 1, aiming to reduce poverty by 50% by 2030 compared to 2015 levels and based on Canada's Official Poverty Line. Canada's Official Poverty Line is based on the cost of a "basket" of goods and services that individuals and families require to meet their basic needs and achieve a modest standard of living in communities across the country. Finally, the National Advisory Council on Poverty counsels the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development on poverty reduction and publicly reports the progress of poverty reduction in Canada every year.

The Canada Child Benefit (CCB) provides support for low- to middle-income families with children aged 17 and under to help them with the high cost of raising children. Because it is based on income, the CCB provides more support to those who need help the most. The CCB is indexed annually and has played a key role in reducing the number of children living in poverty, which has declined by 653,000 between 2015 and 2021.

The Canada Workers Benefit (CWB) is a refundable tax credit that supplements the earnings of low-income workers, letting them take home more money while they work. Budget 2021 expanded the CWB, beginning in the 2021 tax year, to support an expected 1 million additional Canadians in low-wage jobs, and bring the total number of CWB recipients to 3 million per year, both employed and self-employed. It is estimated that this enhancement to the CWB will lift 100,000 people out of poverty. In 2023, the government also began to automatically provide advanced payments of the CWB, which helps put more money in workers' pockets to help cope with the rising cost of living.

The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) provides partial income replacement for Canadian workers and their families in the event of retirement, disability or death. The CPP enhancement that began in 2019 will increase the maximum CPP retirement pension by 50% over time. The enhancement also increases the disability pension and survivor's pension. Enhancing the CPP will significantly reduce the number of Canadian families at risk of not saving enough for retirement, particularly those who do not have a workplace pension plan.

The Old Age Security (OAS) pension is a monthly payment to seniors who are 65 or older who meet the residence requirements. In 2022, to give seniors greater financial security and put more money in their pockets as they advance in their retirement, the government has increased the OAS pension by 10% for seniors age 75 and older.

The Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) provides an income tested monthly non-taxable benefit to low-income OAS pensioners living in Canada. In 2016, the Government of Canada increased the GIS for the lowest-income single seniors by up to $947 annually, helping close to 900,000 seniors who rely almost exclusively on the OAS pension and the GIS (the majority of whom are women).

Canada is supporting eligible on-reserve residents across Canada and Status Indians in the Yukon to cover the costs of their daily living and is providing funding to access pre-employment supports through the On-reserve Income Assistance program.

The Employment Insurance Program is one of the key pillars of social protection in Canada as it provides temporary income support to replace lost employment to individuals who:

become unemployed through no fault of their own and are actively seeking work; or
need to temporarily take time away from work because of life circumstances (illness, injury, pregnancy, care for a newborn or newly adopted child, care for family member who is critically ill or injured or requires end-of-life care)

The first waves of applications are open for the Canadian Dental Care Plan which, when fully implemented, will help ease financial barriers to accessing oral health care for up to 9 million uninsured Canadians with an annual family income of less than $90,000. The Canada Dental Benefit will give eligible families up-front, direct payments of up to $650 a year per eligible child under 12 for 2 years (up to $1,300) to support the costs of dental care services.

The Goods and services tax/harmonized sales tax (GST/HST) credit is a tax-free quarterly payment that helps individuals and families with low and modest incomes offset all or part of the GST or the federal portion of the HST that they pay. About 10.5 million Canadians benefit from this credit each year.

The Government of Canada is working with provincial, territorial, and Indigenous partners to build a Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) system, so all families have access to high-quality, affordable, flexible and inclusive early learning and child care no matter where they live in Canada. Investing in ELCC supports:

enabling parents, particularly mothers, to enter, re-enter, and remain in the workforce
improving graduation rates
promoting lifelong well-being
boosting lifetime earnings
increasing social equity

The Canada Disability Benefit Act, which received royal assent on June 22, 2023, provides authority to establish the benefit and create regulations that will include the details of the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB). The CDB will become an important part of Canada's social safety net by supplementing the income of eligible individuals. It will aim to reduce poverty and support the financial security of eligible working-age persons with disabilities.

The National Housing Strategy (NHS) is a 10-year, $82+ billion plan. The vision of the NHS is that all Canadians have housing that meets their needs and they can afford. Affordable housing is a cornerstone of sustainable, inclusive communities and a Canadian economy where we can prosper and thrive. The NHS focuses on priority populations including:

women and children fleeing domestic violence
seniors
Indigenous peoples
those experiencing homelessness
people with disabilities
those dealing with mental health and addiction issues
veterans
the LGBTQ+ community
young adults
racialized groups including Black Canadians, and
recent immigrants and refugees

Reaching Home: Canada's Homelessness Strategy was launched in April 2019 as a component of the NHS. With enhanced funding announced in response to COVID-19, federal homelessness programming now represents a $3.1 billion investment over 10 years to support the most vulnerable Canadians in:

maintaining safe, stable and affordable housing
reducing chronic homelessness nationally by 50% by 2027 to 2028.

In 2021, the Government of Canada announced its goal to completely eliminate chronic homelessness across the country.

Under the NHS, the Canada Housing Benefit (CHB) aims to reduce housing need for some of Canada's most vulnerable, by providing funding directly to households in need to help them afford their housing costs. Canada and the provinces and territories (PTs) co-developed CHB programs that address the unique housing affordability challenges of each jurisdiction while also supporting federal priorities. PTs cost-match the federal CHB investment and are delivering the benefit in each of their jurisdictions.

The Government of Canada initially launched the Rapid Housing Initiative (RHI) in October 2020 as a $1-billion initiative to help address the urgent housing needs of Canadians who are vulnerable, especially in the context of COVID-19, through the rapid construction of affordable housing. The program has since been expanded with an additional $3.0 billion, to address urgent housing needs. As a result, at least 12,000 units of permanent affordable housing are expected to be created for the most vulnerable populations. Under the RHI, 25 % of funding will support women or women and their children.

In accordance with reducing poverty in all its forms, the Government of Canada will address the growing concerns with affordability through the administration of crucial benefits and credits to those who need it most. Recent credits to directly address Canadians' increasing worries around affordability include:

an additional one-time GST/HST credit payment for eligible low- and modest-income individuals and families, which was made in November 2022. Recipients could receive a payment equivalent of up to 50% of their total annual amount. The amount was calculated based on their family situation in October 2022 and their 2021 adjusted family net income, and provided an amount of up to $234 for single individuals and up to $306 for married and/or common-law couples.
the Grocery Rebate, which was a one-time GST/HST credit top-up for eligible low- and modest-income individuals and families in July 2023. Recipients could receive a payment equivalent of up to twice the amount already received for January 2023. The amount was calculated based on their family situation in January 2023 and their 2021 adjusted family net income. It provided an amount of up to $234 for single individuals and up to $306 for married and/or common-law couples.

What Canada is doing to help reduce poverty abroad

Canada's Official Development Assistance Accountability Act (ODAAA) requires that all Canadian official development assistance maintain a central focus on poverty reduction, take into account the perspectives of the poor, and remain consistent with international human rights standards. To support local needs and ensure ODAAA compliance, Canada engages with partner governments, civil society organisations and project participants throughout the lifecycle of its international assistance projects and programs. Canada's Report to Parliament on the Government of Canada's International Assistance provides a snapshot of projects and programs focused on poverty reduction.

In June 2017, Canada launched its Feminist International Assistance Policy, which seeks to:

eradicate poverty
build a more peaceful, more inclusive and more prosperous world

Canada firmly believes that promoting gender equality and empowering women and girls is the most effective way to achieve this goal and drive progress on all SDGs, including SDG 1. In 2021 to 2022, Canada contributed to the goal of no poverty by providing $7.5 billion in international assistance, implemented through initiatives and commitments under the Policy's 6 action areas.

In recent years, multiple and compounding crises - including the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, new and protracted conflicts, and the ongoing food, energy, and financial crisis - have impacted development gains and increased global poverty from pre-pandemic levels.

By working with its partners, Canada continues to respond to global challenges, with a primary focus on delivering its international assistance in alignment with Canada's feminist policy aims, including a commitment to achieving poverty reduction and ensuring gender equality.

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Date modified:: 2024-05-01

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