What is it?

This indicator measures the percentage of individuals whose family disposable income is below 75% of Canada’s Official Poverty Line.

Why is it important?

Deep income poverty is one of the four inter-related indicators found in the Dignity pillar of Opportunity for All – Canada's First Poverty Reduction Strategy. The indicators in the Dignity pillar are meant to track the progress of initiatives used to help lift Canadians out of poverty by ensuring everyone's basic needs are met.

Program

Canadian Income Survey - Annually

Source

Statistics Canada, Custom tabulation.

Note: 2025 data will be released in spring 2027. The 75% threshold will be maintained for consistency purposes between bases, regardless of changes in MBM components’ share of total threshold.

What is it?

Unmet housing needs are measured by the core housing need indicator. Core housing need refers to whether a private household's housing falls below at least one of the indicator thresholds for housing adequacy, affordability or suitability, and would have to spend 30% or more of its total before tax income to pay the median rent of alternative local housing that is acceptable (attains all three housing indicator thresholds).

Housing indicator thresholds are defined as follows:

• Adequate housing is reported by their residents as not requiring any major repairs.
• Affordable housing has shelter costs equal to less than 30% of total before tax household income.
• Suitable housing has enough bedrooms for the size and composition of resident households according to the National Occupancy Standard (NOS), conceived by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and provincial and territorial representatives.

The national chronic homelessness indicator is calculated using data from communities that have complete coverage of their permanent emergency shelter system for three consecutive years, and annual estimates of national shelter use from the National Shelter Study.

The sample used to estimate chronic homelessness varies annually as the set of communities that meet the eligibility criteria changes. Shelter users are considered chronically homeless if they meet at least one of the following criteria:

• Acute chronicity: used a shelter for six months (180 days) or more in the past year
• Prolonged instability: had shelter stays in each of the last three years

The indicator does not include unsheltered homelessness (e.g., people experiencing homelessness that are staying in unsheltered locations or places not intended for human habitation).

Why is it important?

The Unmet housing needs and chronic homelessness indicator is one of the four inter-related indicators found in the Dignity pillar of Opportunity for All – Canada's First Poverty Reduction Strategy. The indicators in the Dignity pillar are meant to track the progress of initiatives used to help lift Canadians out of poverty by ensuring everyone’s basic needs are met.

Notes

• Unmet housing needs:
  • Program: Census of Population – Every five years
  • Sources: Statistics Canada. 2016 Census Table: Core housing need and 2021 Census Infographic: Core housing need in Canada
  • Note: 2026 Census data will be released in 2027.
• Chronic homelessness:
  • Program: National Shelter Study, the data are collected by service providers and communities using the Homeless Individuals and Families Information System (HIFIS) and through data-sharing partnerships with jurisdictions that use similar systems.
  • Sources: Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada: Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada - Homelessness data snapshot: The National Shelter Study 2024 Update
  • Note: 2025 data will be released in 2026.

What is it?

This indicator measures the percentage of Canadians that reported that their health care needs were not met during the past 12 months.

Why is it important?

The Unmet health needs is one of the four inter-related indicators found in the Dignity pillar of Opportunity for All – Canada's First Poverty Reduction Strategy. The indicators in the Dignity pillar are meant to track the progress of initiatives used to help lift Canadians out of poverty by ensuring everyone's basic needs are met.

Notes

The source for this indicator has been updated from the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) to the Canadian Income Survey (CIS). Unmet health needs content was first collected by the CIS in 2019, for reference year 2018, and is now conducted annually. The question that determines whether a person had unmet health needs is: "During the past 12 months, was there ever a time when you felt that you needed health care, other than homecare services, but you did not receive it?" Those who answer "Yes" are asked subsequent questions such as the reason(s) and the type(s) of care needed. This module is only asked of one person randomly selected among persons aged 15 years and over in each CIS household. Users should be aware that for data prior to 2022, the random selection was done among persons aged 16 years and over. For more information on CIS unmet health needs estimates and comparisons to estimates produced using the CCHS, please see: Canadian Income Survey: Food insecurity and unmet health care needs, 2018 and 2019.

Program

Canadian Income Survey – Annually

Source

Statistics Canada. Table 13-10-0836-01 Unmet health care needs by gender and age group.

Note: 2025 data will be available in spring 2027.

What is it?

This indicator measures the percentage of Canadians that do not have enough money to purchase or access a sufficient amount and variety of food to live a healthy lifestyle.

Why is it important?

The Food insecurity is one of the four inter-related indicators found in the Dignity pillar of Opportunity for All – Canada's First Poverty Reduction Strategy. The indicators in the Dignity pillar are meant to track the progress of initiatives used to help lift Canadians out of poverty by ensuring everyone's basic needs are met.

Notes

The source for this indicator has been updated from the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) to the Canadian Income Survey (CIS). Food security content was first collected by the CIS in 2019, for reference year 2018, and is now conducted annually. It contains the same 18 questions used in the CCHS Household Food Security Survey Module (HFSSM), which are designed to measure food insecurity resulting from limited financial resources. The HFSSM is Canada's primary validated measure of food insecurity. For more information on CIS food insecurity estimates and comparisons to estimates produced using the CCHS, please see: Canadian Income Survey: Food insecurity and unmet health care needs, 2018 and 2019.

Program

Canadian Income Survey – Annually

Source

Statistics Canada. Table 13-10-0834-01 Food insecurity by economic family type.

Note: 2025 data will be available in spring 2027.

What is it?

The Relative low income indicator uses Statistics Canada’s Low Income Measure (LIM) to measure the proportion of Canadians living in low income. According to the LIM, individuals live in low income if their household after-tax income falls below half of the median after-tax income, adjusting for household size. The median income is the middle of the income distribution: it is the amount at which half the population has more income and half the population has less income.

Why is it important?

The Relative low income is one of the four inter-related indicators found in the Opportunity and Inclusion pillar of Opportunity for All – Canada's First Poverty Reduction Strategy. The indicators in the Opportunity and Inclusion pillar are meant to track the progress of initiatives used to help Canadians join the middle class by promoting full participation in society and equality of opportunity.

Program

Canadian Income Survey - Annually

Source

Statistics Canada. Table 11-10-0135-01 Low income statistics by age, gender and economic family type.

Note: 2025 data will be available in spring 2027.

What is it?

The Bottom 40% income share indicator measures the share of total after-tax income held by the 40% of the population at the bottom of the income distribution. The after-tax income is adjusted for household size in order to take into account the economies of scale present in larger households.

Why is it important?

The bottom 40% income share is one of the four inter-related indicators found in the Opportunity and Inclusion pillar of Opportunity for All – Canada's First Poverty Reduction Strategy. The indicators in the Opportunity and Inclusion pillar are meant to track the progress of initiatives used to help Canadians join the middle class by promoting full participation in society and equality of opportunity.

Program

Canadian Income Survey - Annually

Source

Statistics Canada. Table 11-10-0193-01 Upper income limit, income share and average of adjusted market, total and after-tax income by income decile.

Note: 2025 data will be available in spring 2027.

What is it?

The Youth engagement indicator measures the proportion of youth aged 15 to 24 who are not in employment, education or training (NEET).

Why is it important?

The Youth engagement is one of the four inter-related indicators found in the Opportunity and Inclusion pillar of Opportunity for All – Canada's First Poverty Reduction Strategy. The indicators in the Opportunity and Inclusion pillar are meant to track the progress of initiatives used to help Canadians join the middle class by promoting full participation in society and equality of opportunity.

Program

Labour Force Survey – monthly with indicator being updated annually

Source

Statistics Canada. Custom tabulation.

Note: 2026 data will be available in Spring 2026.

What is it?

The Literacy and Numeracy indicator measures the proportion of individuals who have a level of knowledge and skills in reading, writing and mathematics to permit them to fully participate in society. Low literacy indicates limited ability in understanding, using, reflecting on and engaging with written text which enable basic participation in society. Low numeracy indicates limited ability in communicating, using and interpreting mathematics in daily life.

Why is it important?

The Literacy and Numeracy indicator is one of the four inter-related indicators found in the Opportunity and Inclusion pillar of Opportunity for All – Canada's First Poverty Reduction Strategy. The indicators in the Opportunity and Inclusion pillar are meant to track the progress of initiatives used to help Canadians join the middle class by promoting full participation in society and equality of opportunity.

Program

Program for International Student Assessment – Every three years

Source

OECD. Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).

Note: 2025 data will be available in 2026.

For data on adults, the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies occurs every 10 years. To allow for comparisons between the 2012 and 2022 cycles, territories were excluded because they were not collected in 2022. In addition, cases done through a doorstep interview were excluded from the 2022 data. Please see Literacy, numeracy and adaptive problem-solving skills of Canadians: Results from the 2022 Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies for more information.

What is it?

The hourly wage at which half the population has a higher wage and half the population has a lower wage.

Why is it important?

The Median hourly wage indicator is one of the four inter-related indicators found in the Resilience and Security pillar of Opportunity for All – Canada's First Poverty Reduction Strategy. The indicators in the Resilience and Security pillar are meant to track the progress of initiatives used to support the middle class by protecting Canadians from falling into poverty and by supporting income security and resilience.

Notes

The annual Canada-level Consumer Price Index (CPI) value was used to convert current dollars into constant dollars.

For example, to convert the 2024 current dollar value into 2025 constant dollars, the following was done: $30.00 (2024 value), divided by 160.9 (2024 CPI), multiplied by 164.2 (2025 CPI) = $30.62 (2024 value converted to 2025 dollars).

Program

Labour Force Survey – monthly with indicator being updated annually

Source

Labour Force Survey, Statistics Canada. Table 14-10-0417-01 Employee wages by occupation, annual.

Consumer Price Index, Statistics Canada. Table 18-10-0005-01 Consumer Price Index, annual average, not seasonally adjusted.

What is it?

The Average poverty gap indicator measures the average shortfall below Canada’s Official Poverty Line for those living in poverty.

Once it has been determined that an individual is living below the poverty line, the poverty gap ratio can be calculated by using the amount that the person’s family disposable income is below the poverty line, expressed as a percentage of the poverty line. For example, an individual living in a family with disposable income of $15,000 and a poverty line of $20,000 would have a poverty gap of $5,000. In percentage terms, the “gap ratio” would be 25%. The average gap ratio for a given population is the average of these values as calculated for each person.

Why is it important?

The Average poverty gap is one of the four inter-related indicators found in the Resilience and Security pillar of Opportunity for All – Canada's First Poverty Reduction Strategy. The indicators in the Resilience and Security pillar are meant to track the progress of initiatives used to support the middle class by protecting Canadians from falling into poverty and by supporting income security and resilience. A smaller average poverty gap from one time period to the next generally indicates that Canadians living in poverty have seen their incomes increase and move closer to the poverty line.

Program

Canadian Income Survey - Annually

Source

Statistics Canada. Table 11-10-0136-01 Low income statistics by economic family type.

Note: 2025 data will be available in spring 2027.

What is it?

This indicator reports on the ability of Canadians to cover unexpected expenses, or reduced income, by drawing from assets (e.g. a bank account) for a period of three months. (Savings of approximately $6,900 for the three months, based on the after-tax low income measure estimate for 2023.)

Why is it important?

The Asset resilience indicator is one of the four inter-related indicators found in the Resilience and Security pillar of Opportunity for All – Canada's First Poverty Reduction Strategy. The indicators in the Resilience and Security pillar are meant to track the progress of initiatives used to support the middle class by protecting Canadians from falling into poverty and by supporting income security and resilience.

Notes

This indicator represents the proportion of people who have enough liquid financial assets to cover at least three months of the after-tax low income measure. Liquid financial assets include bank accounts, term deposits, treasury bills, tax-free savings accounts, stocks and bonds (in mutual funds or not), and registered retirement savings plans.

Liquid financial assets can provide some relief for families faced with a disruption to their primary source of income, so they can continue to meet their essential needs and financial obligations. Therefore, families with lower liquid financial assets may be more vulnerable to a disruption in income than families with higher liquid financial assets.

In March 2021, the methodology used to estimate the asset resilience indicator was updated to include data from 2019. Historical data was also updated to ensure comparability over time. For more information please see: Asset resilience of Canadians, 2019.

Program

Survey of Financial Security – Every three years

Source

Statistics Canada. Table 11-10-0082-01 Percentage of persons who are asset resilient, Canada.

Note: 2025 data will be available in December 2026.

What is it?

The low income entry and exit rates describe how Canadian tax filers' low income status changed from one year to another. These rates are estimated for Canadians who filed tax returns for two consecutive years, while those that did not file tax returns for two consecutive years are excluded from the calculations.

The low income entry rate is, out of those who were not in low income in the first year, the proportion who entered low income in the second year.

The low income exit rate is, out of those who were in low income in the first year, the proportion who exited low income in the second year.

Why is it important?

Low income entry and exit rates are one of the four inter-related indicators used to track progress of the resilience of Canadian households. These indicators are meant to track the proportion of non-low income Canadians in one year who fall into low income the following year as well as the proportion of low-income Canadians in one year who exit low income the next year.

Program

Longitudinal Administrative Databank – Annually

Source

Statistics Canada. Table 11-10-0024-01 Low income entry and exit rates of tax filers in Canada.

Note: Low income entry and exit rates are based on the Low Income Measure. The indicator is not currently available using Canada's Official Poverty Line, and it is not available in the territories. Data on low income entry and exit rates for 2023-2024 will be published in spring 2027.