Why 1 in 4 Canadians Are Poor

Recent study shown that most Canadians live in poverty, with the rising cost of housing, inflation and challenging job market, this report is no surprise, but how representative is it?

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[danielmaxwell]

I've been to 7 countries and 40 cities. I am from Ukraine and I lived in China for 9 years, recently I moved to Canada and I can say one thing for sure. Even if, EVEN IF Canada is 10th economy in the world, it's only on paper. This is one of the most undeveloped countries I have ever been to. Nothing, and I mean it, nothing here works well, nothing here tells you that it's a good (wealthy) country. Everything is old, roads are horrible, no fast speed trains whatsoever, transportation is awful, Canadian government seem don't want to deal with any of their problems, like snow for example. I thought, I'm gonna see some super modern snow cleaning machines or some sort of shit like that. But hell no. They stuck in 90s-2000s. Instead they still send letters to each other. Letters Carl. In 2024 they send paper letters with valuable information, like your credit cards or passwords. Thanks God they don't send pigeon or horseman lol. This country is poor, undeveloped and hyper expensive to live in (considering what you are paying for). when it comes to what kind of lifestyle people can afford in Canada, people are very fucking poor here.
If there are money in Canada. It definitely doesn't go to people. Some yeah, to bums mostly and a little bit to really struggling honest people who want to work. But it doesn't cover it. The amount of taxes that people are paying... At least could deal with the snow. I'm just saying. ))

[john.a.gonsalves]

You are poor when you are shocked that 4 regular Canadian grown potatoes cost $6.75 and olive oil cost $16.95

[nikkibelair]

I don't know... While you do make a good point that poverty is measured differently in Canada, in some places the poverty levels can be really shocking. I was living in Brazil, and I was absolutely shocked at the levels of poverty in downtown Calgary and especially Edmonton. It's true poverty, with working people unable to properly feed their families. That's not to mention the huge number of homeless people living in camps everywhere or hiding in river banks or forests. It reached such a point that people are running away from neighbourhoods accessible by public transit because they don't want drug addicts throwing used paraphernalia and syringes on playgrounds, breaking car windows, and being generally dangerous to others, especially women and children. In my condo building, there were always homeless people and drug addicts breaking in, peeing in the hallways, stealing packages, breaking into mailboxes (twice in one month!), and even threatening me randomly. They stole stuff from my car as well. From my apartment, when I look into the park every Sunday, there's a huge line of people waiting for a bowl of soup and some clothing donations. You can also see that places are generally unkempt. For instance, apartment blocks are filthy compared to Brazilian ones, and they smell bad. Even malls are not as nice, and the city itself is dirty. And this is coming from Canada's richest province.

The levels of poverty and inequality I saw were so daunting I contemplated moving back to southern Brazil just a few weeks after landing.

I think the core of the issue is how Canada doesn't develop really complex industries, but rather relies on resource extraction and real estate speculation, which creates limited job opportunities. To make matters worse, competency doesn't really matter in Canada, but who you know. Canada is the textbook example of "not what you know, but who you know." Unfortunately, more and more people that immigrated here are simply waiting for citizenship to move somewhere else. It seems like the West in general is going through a deep decline, and the population itself is in denial: they keep assuming countries like Brazil are undeveloped, whereas in many ways, it's far ahead of Canada. The same can be said of many countries in Asia, which are far more livable right now than Canada. Not to mention that in the past few years, the population here has become disgruntled with immigrants, and it can be felt clearly in the job-hunting process or even in daily interactions, especially on the phone when people are hostile to you just because you have an accent.

[WeiminHuang-ix]

It is shame that I am still living with my parents, because if I don’t, I will be joining those people who living in tents. There is no way I can afford a home by earning nearly the minimum wage. Even rents now reach $2300 for one bed apartment. This is worse than not only the G7 countries, but also worse than most of countries in Asia.

[brucetso]

In Canada, few job, low pay, high living cost. Reason? High tax > few business > few job > few facilities and housing. At the same time, Immigration policy lost control > over population > intense competition job market > low pay > expensive rent and housing. Compared other English speaking countries, Canada is the worst in this moment.

[seanothepop]

It's very possible to tax people highly and not use that tax properly. It's so possible that I think that's what's happening in Canada concerning taxes. The fun part is that the biggest issues we face is still starvation, homelessness, lack of mental health care and failing health care (we stripped the taxes going to those services). Canada is saying that not having a car and house is poverty because the truth is worse. It's conceding a bad to hide a very bad. We're fucked, we'll see.

[marg]

It all depends on how you handle money. You can have 2 families making the exact same money, one does well and the other is a mess.

[TurningoffyourGaslights]

No sympathy.
.
Trudeau and Singh both say 'they have your back'...and they're there for the 'little' guy/gal.
They certainly do like little people and are doing their best to keep you little.
And your back...they stabbed you in it.
.
How many times did Canadians vote for the liberal/ndp team?
They fully deserve what they voted for.

[bedardpelchat]

Most people would consider me as poor. I don't. I live within my means and I am quite happy with what I got.

[robertotorres]

For me to buy a house is something that I would really consider and think a lot before doing it. Even with a 200K dow payment, I do not consider it a financial intelligent move. You will need to have a job for 15 to 20 years back to back and nowadays there is no industry/company that can assure you that. Canada is very expensive even for a couple of young qualified professionals.

[kunal]

My friend immigrated to Kenya and is working a normal sales job paying $2000 usd a month. He is able to save $1500 out of it each month after expenses. And is still trying to come to Canada. I wonder why

[InfinityDz]

I agree, we barely make 40k/year but I don't feel that poor. Compared to the general population yes, but in general no. We actually have no debt at all and slowly building up our savings

[alexlaszlo]

In a debt based society where most of the people just don't make enough for a bare survival, the poverty rate I guess is around 90+%.... 😮

[joannebutlerster]

The main topic of the actual report from the Food Bank is the Material Deprivation Index. The report authors say the MDI is not used in Canada, but the authors recommended that we should use it to complement (not replace) our current measurement system, which is the Market Basket Measurement (the EU uses a basket of goods measurement AND other measurements to estimate poverty levels, and New Zealand is probably the best in the world regarding gathering and analyzing the real factors that cause and prolong poverty). The United States does not use a Material Deprivation Index either, but its Census Bureau does carry out research using the "Multidimensional Hardship Index, " which integrates several measurement approaches. I have not read the full Food Bank report, but have read the 20-page summary. It is most unfortunate that the politicization and polarization of every single subject in this country has resulted in the Food Bank report being used merely as ammunition in our never-ending sniping at one another, which leads nowhere and stops us from taking action together for the good of the majority. We should focus instead on the Food Bank's recommendation to incorporate the Material Deprivation Index into our understanding of poverty, so that we can work together on effective ways to improve people's lives.

Here is an excerpt from the end of the summary, which is the closest thing to a recommendation the authors provide.

"A better understanding of poverty is critical if we are to accurately evaluate our progress, or lack of progress, in reducing material distress among households in Canada. We recommend that Statistics Canada establish and maintain a material deprivation module – a set of questions to measure living standards via the “normal” goods, services, and activities that households with modest but acceptable living standards would ordinarily be expected to be able to afford. The material deprivation module would complement the MBM, which measures poverty by inputs. Together, the two types of indicators would provide a deeper and more accurate insight into poverty in Canada.

POVERTY IN CANADA THROUGH A DEPRIVATION LENS | FOOD BANKS CANADA
Statistics Canada, with the assistance of Employment and Social Development Canada, is unarguably better placed to develop and maintain a robust MDI than a group of voluntary agencies. Statistics Canada could easily and inexpensively add a deprivation module to one of its existing annual surveys – for example, the Canadian Income Survey. An even more comprehensive understanding of poverty could be obtained by including the deprivation module in the long-form census, permitting a detailed examination of the relationship between economic distress and the many variables included in the long form, including for groups and locations where the samples would
otherwise be too small to permit analysis.

Another, minor but not insignificant, advantage of the MDI if used as a complement to the MBM is that a material deprivation survey can provide feedback on current conditions, whereas the MBM will always be a few years behind because of the time it takes to ensure the accuracy of income data. This advantage of the MDI would be especially important in times of rapidly changing economic conditions and the need to react quickly, such as in the height of the recent pandemic and the surge of inflation in its aftermath, or at a time of rapidly rising interest rates.

An MDI would be a useful tool not only for understanding the nature of poverty in Canada, but also for designing better programs to address poverty. For example, our survey suggests that a simple income payment adjusted for a few factors such as size and age of family will not efficiently address poverty. Instead, we need to understand and address the factors beyond income that determine the lived experience of households. As another example, we have seen that the majority of people who are living in poverty are working or looking for work, so addressing poverty solely through programs aimed only at people who are not in the labour force will fail to reach most of those who require extra support.

In sum, we believe that our research has shown that poverty may be different, and perhaps more extensive, than it appears when viewed through the single lens of the MBM income-based poverty line. We believe there is an opportunity for a more accurate understanding of poverty by applying a second lens: a material deprivation index."

[dougpatterson]

Many years of my childhood my family was “below the poverty line” and received government benefits to help with children’s dental care, etcetera but now, at 30, am fortunate to have now been able to check off all 11 of those criteria. I am going on a two week family vacation to Europe tomorrow.

[it_wasnt_me]

wow you are taking your videos to a whole new level, ladies. Cheers!

[icevoss]

And that's why Trudeau and party needs to finally go.

[darke-minecraft]

Great journalism to effectively debunk bogus news headlines. Love this.

[vladoffline]

It's great that you have an encouraging channel providing tips for people who want to settle in Canada. I think it's also important to be realistic about newcomers' financial prospects in Canada and for each person to assess individual circumstances.
I am a Ukrainian who grew up in Canada but now lives in Germany. I am surprised how low the standard of living in Canada is compared to (Western) Germany, especially when comparing people with comparable qualifications. While Canada is an inclusive country where English is widely spoken, the ultra-competitive job market and the lack of desire to hire people with international experience makes it hard for expats to benefit from the move financially.
Canada is definitely a safe heaven for people from oppressive regimes, war-torn countries and those having enough wealth not to work. I'd love it though if Canada becomes a destination for people who want to make it professionally and financially as well.

[Water]

Some of you jumped straight into the comments without watching and it shows.