goal 1

Canada: 32nd OUT OF 41 COUNTRIES

 « END POVERTY IN ALL ITS FORMS EVERYWHERE »

TARGET 1.2
Reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all age sliving in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions.

 

CHILDREN LIVING IN POVERTY ACCORDING TO STATISTICS CANADA’S
AFTER-TAX LOW-INCOME MEASURE

  • In the Montréal Census Metropolitan Area in 2015, 16.4% of children under 18 were living in a low-income situation (Figure 1.1).

    This percentage is lower than in Vancouver (17.7%), Toronto (18.7%) and all of Canada (17.4%).
  • In the Montréal Census Metropolitan Area in 2015, 37.3% of children in a single-parent family were living in a low-income situation (Figure 1.2).

 

ACCORDING TO COMPILATIONS BY THE INSTITUT DE LA STATISTIQUE DU QUÉBEC (ISQ) AND THE AFTER-TAX LOW-INCOME MEASURE (LIM):

  • In the Montréal administrative region, 30% of single-parent families were in a low-income situation in 2014, down from 33% in 2010.

    In comparison, 11% of couples with two children were in a low-income situation in 2014, down from 13% in 2010.
  • In Laval, 21% of single-parent families were in a low-income situation in 2014, down from 22% in 2010.

    In comparison, 5% of couples with two children were in a low-income situation in 2014, the same as in 2010.
  • In Montérégie, 22% of single-parent families were in a low-income situation in 2014, down from 24% in 2010.

    In comparison, 3% of couples with two children were in a low-income situation in 2014, down from 4% in 2010.

Figure 1.1

Percentage of children under age 18 living in low-income households based on the after-tax low-income measure (LIM), all family types, 2015.

 SOURCE : Statistics Canada, CANSIM Table 111-0015.

Figure 1.2

Percentage of children under age 18 living in low-income households based on the after-tax low-income measure (LIM), single-parent families only, 2015.

 SOURCE : Statistics Canada, CANSIM Table 111-0015.

In Montréal, 16.4% of children under 18 lived in a low-income household in 2015

35.8 % of canada's low-income neighbourhoods are in Montréal

Another aspect of poverty is the concentration of low-income individuals in certain neighbourhoods, and how this impacts the outlook of children who grow up there.

Statistics Canada defines a low-income neighbourhood as “one in which 30% or more of its residents have low income,” that is, an income below the threshold of the after-tax low-income measure (LIM).

  • In Quebec in 2015, 14.4% of children under age 18 were living in poverty. This percentage is the lowest of all the Canadian provinces. Manitoba has the highest rate of children under 18 living in poverty, at 27.5%.
  • In Canada in 2011, most of the low-income neighbourhoods were in the greater metropolitan areas of Montréal, Toronto and Vancouver.
  • Montréal had the highest number of low-income neighbourhoods. Of the 478 low-income neighbourhoods in Canada, 171 (35.8%) were in Montréal. Toronto and Vancouver had 15.7% and 7.1% of these neighbourhoods, respectively

FAMILIES BENEFIT FROM TAXES AND TRANSFERS

ONE USEFUL MEASURE FOR ASSESSING THE CONTRIBUTION OF TAXES AND SOCIAL TRANSFERS TO POVERTY REDUCTION IS THE LOW-INCOME CUT-OFF (LICO), WHICH IS CALCULATED BEFORE OR AFTER TAXES AND TRANSFERS.

TARGET 1.3
Implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floors, and by 2030 achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the vulnerable.

In the Montréal census metropolitan area, taxes and transfers brought the proportion of children under 18 living in poverty down from 22% to 14%.

  • Taxes and transfers brought the proportion of children in two-parent families living in poverty down from 20% to 11%.
  • For children living in a single-parent family headed by a woman, thes ituation was more worrisome: 38% were living in a low-income household, and taxes and transfers brought this fi gure down to 30%.

Two indicators of poverty were used:

  1. Low income cut-off (LICO): A family is considered low-income if it spends more of its after-tax income on food, shelter and clothing than the average family. The LICOs are income thresholds below which a family spends 20 percentage points more of its budget on these essential goods than the average Canadian family. It is an absolute measurement.
  2. Low-income measure (LIM) before or after taxes: A family is considered low-income if its income is less than half the median family income of all families, adjusted for household size and composition. This is a relative measurement.