Discover financial empowerment resources
Discover financial empowerment resources
In Canada and the United States, approximately 1 in 5 children live in poverty, contributing to poor health outcomes. Families with children with chronic illness may experience additional financial stress related to hospitalization. This study aimed to capture experiences of financial needs and...
In their study, entitled, “Experiences of Financial Stress and Supports in Caregivers During Pediatric Hospital Admission,” Nadarajah et al interviewed caregivers of children admitted to a pediatric hospital and conducted qualitative analyses to assess financial needs, health related financial...
The Canada Disability Benefit is an opportunity to guarantee that people with disabilities can live a life with dignity and have an adequate standard of living. For the new Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) to meet its goal of financially supporting and reducing poverty of people with disabilities,...
Working poverty is pervasive, racialized, and until the pandemic, was increasing in Toronto and across Canada. Until the pandemic, this increase was counterintuitive, during 2006 to 2016, as most of this ten-year period had been characterized by one of the most prolonged economic recoveries in...
This is the 2023 report on the progress of Opportunity for All – Canada’s First Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS). While COVID-19 still threatens communities in Canada and around the world, the public health measures have largely been lifted. Temporary economic measures have also ended. At the...
In Canada, governments provide seniors with a spectrum of income supports and programs intended to maintain a baseline standard of living in retirement. For many years, the social safety net has been praised for producing lower poverty rates for seniors, as measured by the Market Basket Measure...
The Expanding Economic Opportunity Through Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (EEOVITA) cohort has been working to identify and engage targeted, underserved populations most at risk for missing out on the expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC) benefit. This project, which began in January 2022 and concludes...
The Housing Supply Report provides regular insights on new housing supply in Canada’s major cities and urban areas. These insights can help us understand the supply responsiveness that we know contributes to price escalation and housing affordability challenges. This report examines new housing...
Food Banks Canada's all-new Poverty Report Cards initiative grades how poverty reduction efforts are going in the provincial, territorial, and federal governments. The report cards will help policymakers and decision-makers at all levels of government gauge their performance in the fight against...
Two articles released in Economic and Social Reports provide insights on the poverty rates and changing demographics of racialized population groups in Canada. The article "Poverty among racialized groups across generations," shows that most racialized groups had higher poverty rates...
This discussion paper begins by explaining what is commonly understood as child care and how child care expenses currently enter the market basket measure (MBM) methodology. It then describes an alternative approach to account for child care expenses by incorporating them as a separate component...
Building the Case provides evidence for the federal government to urgently step up to support single, working-age adults in Canada. This group experiences Canada’s highest and deepest rates of poverty and some of the country’s highest rates of food insecurity. By analyzing publicly...
There are many effective, award-winning financial literacy programs in Canada. However, many of these programs do not meet the needs of women living on low incomes. Families Canada’s national research study identified 14 social, economic, and institutional barriers that prevent women living on...
Food insecurity—the inadequate access to food due to financial constraints—affects 1 in 6 households in Canada, with serious health implications. Family benefit programs supplementing income have shown potential in mitigating the risk of food insecurity, but there is little understanding of...
This study uses the 2022 Portrait of Canadian Society Survey to examine the impact of rising inflation on the lowest income Canadians. Using multiple pre-pandemic data sources, the study takes a closer look at people living in the bottom family income quintile, examining their family income, debt...
Canada’s National Advisory Council on Poverty’s second Annual Report, Understanding Systems, is the first report to provide a glimpse into poverty since COVID-19. Based on community engagements with Canadians and provinces/territories over the last year, the Council has recommended five...
This collection of financial empowerment tools and resources is intended to support both Indigenous and non-Indigenous organizations working to build financial wellness in First Nation communities. It was created as part of the Financial Wellness in First Nations project (2021-2023) where...
Drawing on survey and interview data, as well as data from Daily Bread and North York Harvest’s member agencies, the 2022 Who’s Hungry report examines trends in food bank use and food insecurity over the past year in relation to three core areas: income and employment, housing, and the cost of...
Charitable food programs have been the primary response to household food insecurity in Canada since the 1980s. Yet, for as long as there has been systematic monitoring, there has been no meaningful decline in the prevalence of household food insecurity. Based on the most recent data from...
Daily aspects of Canadians' lives are increasingly touched by digital technology, and access to high-speed Internet has become an essential service and a key driver for improving our economic and social well-being. The Government of Canada originally announced Connecting Families in Budget 2017 to...
In 2022, The Communities Ending Poverty network raised the following question: How can we engage youth as leaders in poverty reduction efforts? At Tamarack Institute events in July 2022, local and national youth leaders shared experiences and advice on how collaboratives could keep improving their...
Gig workers account for approximately 25 to 35% of the national workforce. When considering workers earning low to moderate incomes (LMI), these percentages are likely higher. Gig work provides reported advantages including flexibility, supplemental income, and independence. However, it also brings...
Drawing on data for 54,000 households from Statistics Canada's Canadian Income Survey conducted in 2021, a disturbingly high rate of household food insecurity was identified. Food insecurity consists of inadequate or insecure access to food due to financial constraints. The prevalence of...
The American Rescue Plan, one of the most significant policy responses to alleviate child poverty in decades, made fundamental changes in enhancing the Child Tax Credit (CTC). In response to the pandemic, the law expanded the CTC for tax year 2021 to ensure a minimum level of economic support to...
A good deal of attention has been paid to the question of what these high rates of inflation in housing and food costs mean for Canadians. Much of the concern has focused on the implications for middle-income Canadians hoping to purchase a home, while squeezing their household budgets. But what do...