Canada’s poverty rate remained largely unchanged in 2024, highlighting ongoing affordability challenges across the country, according to new data released by Statistics Canada.
The agency reports that 11 per cent of Canadians — roughly 4.5 million people — were living in poverty in 2024. While this marks a slight improvement from 11.1 per cent in 2023, it remains significantly higher than the seven per cent recorded in 2020 during the height of pandemic-related income supports.
Regional disparities continue to be pronounced. Nunavut recorded the highest poverty rate at 31.7 per cent, largely driven by the elevated cost of living in northern communities. Among provinces, British Columbia posted a rate of 13 per cent, followed by Ontario at 12.5 per cent. In contrast, Quebec continued to report the lowest poverty rate at seven per cent.
The data also underscores persistent inequality, with racialized communities, Indigenous peoples and Canadians living with disabilities disproportionately affected by poverty.
Statistics Canada measures poverty using a market basket approach, which calculates whether individuals can afford a defined set of essential goods and services — including housing, food, transportation and clothing — adjusted for family size and local costs.
The latest figures suggest that while emergency supports during the pandemic temporarily reduced poverty levels, structural affordability pressures — including housing costs and inflation — continue to keep millions of Canadians below the poverty line.