Report Cards

Safe and Affordable Housing

Having a safe and adequate place to live is essential in a child’s development, but affordable housing remains an insurmountable barrier for many families living in poverty. Housing is the single largest expense for low, modest and middle-income families. As the average income for as many as half of Canadians has stagnated, rents have skyrocketed, particularly in urban areas. This has left some families paying very high proportions of their income on rent, with very little left over for food, clothing, transportation, and child care. An alarming 1 in 4 households pay more than 30% of their income on housing – and some much more.

2008 Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Canada

National Report Cards

2009 Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Canada
English [pdf, 12pp, 1.39Mb]

Rapport 2009 sur la pauvreté des enfants et des familles au Canada : 1989 - 2009
French [pdf, 12pp, 1.19Mb]

The 2009 national report card shows that two decades after the House of Commons’ unanimous resolution “to seek to achieve the goal of eliminating poverty among Canadian children by the year 2000,” Canada has far to go to prevent and reduce poverty. Report key findings:

One in 10 children still live in poverty in Canada today. It’s worse for children living in First Nation’s communities: one in four grow up in poverty;
There are more working poor: 40 per cent of low-income children live in families where at least one parent works full-time year round, up dramatically from 33 per cent in the 1990s;
Child poverty is persistent across Canada: rates of child and family poverty (LICO before-tax) are in the double digits in most provinces.
The gap between rich and poor has widened: On average, for every dollar the families in the poorest 10 per cent had, families in the richest 10 per cent had almost 12 times as much ($11.84) in 2007.

2008 Report Cards

2008 National Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Canada.
ENGLISH [pdf, 8pp, 542KB]

Rapport 2008 sur la pauvreté des enfants et des familles au Canada.
FRANÇAIS [pdf, 8pp, 565KB].

Print copies are available via the online order form, or from Campaign 2000. Contact us.

Summary:

Campaign 2000 released the 2008 Report Card on Child and Family Poverty, revealing that 19 years after the 1989 all-party resolution of the House of Commons, shows the nation’s child poverty rate is almost what it was in 1989 when Parliament unanimously resolved to end child poverty by the year 2000. After a decade of strong economic growth:

Canada’s after-tax child poverty rate appears stalled at 11.3 per cent;
Nearly one out every nine Canadian children lives in poverty;
A startling 40 per cent of low-income children live in families where at least one of their parents works full-time year round – they’re the working poor;
Children in racialized, new Canadian and Aboriginal families as well as children with disabilities are at greater risk of living in poverty.

The federal government can change this picture and Canadians want the government to act:

An October 2008 Environics poll shows an overwhelming majority (92 per cent) of Canadians say that if nations like the UK and Sweden can make significant progress on reducing poverty, then Canada can too. Eighty-six per cent say governments should take concrete action, reducing poverty by 25 per cent in five years.

Archived Campaign 2000 Report Cards

2007 Report Cards

It Takes a Nation to Raise a Generation: Time for a National Poverty Reduction Strategy.
2007 report card on child and faminly poverty in Canada. ENGLISH [pdf, 8pp, 542KB]

Il faut une nation pour éduquer une génération : Le temps est venu pour une stratégie nationale de réduction de la pauvreté
Rapport 2007 sur la pauvreté des enfants et des familles au Canada. FRANÇAIS [pdf, 8pp, 565KB].

2006 Report Cards

Oh Canada! Too Many Children in Poverty for Too Long …. 2006 report card on child poverty in Canada. ENGLISH [pdf, 6pp, 311KB]

Oh Canada! Trop d'enfants pauvres et depuis trop longtemps … Rapport 2006 sur la pauvreté des enfants et des familles au Canada. FRANÇAIS [pdf, 6pp, 331KB].

2005 Report Cards

Decision Time for Canada: Let’s Make Poverty History.
2005 report card on child poverty in Canada. ENGLISH [pdf, 12pp, 179KB]

Une décision s’impose au Canada : Abolissons la pauvreté.
Rapport 2005 sur la pauvreté des enfants au Canada. FRANÇAIS [pdf, 12pp, 178KB].

2004 Report Cards

One million too many: Implementing solutions to child poverty in Canada.
2004 report card on child poverty in Canada. ENGLISH [pdf, 12pp, 186KB]

Un million de trop : mettre en oeuvre des solutions pour s'attaquer à la pauvreté des enfants au Canada.
Rapport 2004 sur la pauvreté des enfants au Canada. FRANÇAIS [pdf, 12pp, 193KB].

2003 Report Cards

Honouring Our Promises: Meeting the Challenge to End Child and Family Poverty
English [12pp 183KB]

Honorer nos promesses : relever le défi d'éliminer la pauvreté des enfants et des familles Français [12pp 190KB]

2002 Report Cards

Poverty Amidst Prosperity: Building a Canada for All Children (Nov. 2002)
English [4pp 107KB]

Rapport 2002 La pauvreté en période de prospérité - La pauvreté en période de prospérité - bâtir un Canada pour tous les enfants
French, [pdf, 4pp, 110KB]

La session extraordinaire de l'ONU consacrée aux enfants, mai 2002: L'occasion de tenir nos promesses, Rapport sur une décennie de pauvreté des enfants au Canada [pdf, 16pp, 290KB]

2001 Report Cards

Family Security in Insecure Times: Tackling Canada's Social Deficit (Nov. 2001)
English [4pp 760KB]

Pour assurer la sécurité familiale en ces temps incertains, il faut s'attaquer au déficit social du
Canada
Français [4pp 660KB]

2000 Report Cards

2000 National Report Card
English, [pdf, 8pp, 1,394KB]

Rapport 2000 - La pauvreté des enfants au Canada
French, [pdf, 8pp, 1.19MB]

For earlier reports please contact Liyu Guo by e-mail: liyugu@familyservicetoronto.org