- 5.4% of Canadians (1.9 million) were in deep income poverty in 2016, making them the poorest of the poor.
- 24.8% of working age single females
- 22.1% of working age single males
- 14.2% of female lone-parent families
- 9.5% of Indigenous people living off-reserve
- 8.3% of recent immigrants
- 7.7% of persons with disabilities
Statistics for each indicator are based on most recent available data. Going forward, Opportunity for All will track progress relative to 2015 levels or available data that is closest in time to 2015. Further details on poverty reduction indicators are available in Annex 1 – The Statistical Fine Print. Canadians in deep income poverty have income that is below 75% of Canada’s Official Poverty Line. Working age refers to individuals who are 18 to 64 years of age.
Chapter 4: Opportunity and inclusion
Addressing poverty is about more than just providing the bare necessities of life. Many Canadians struggle to get ahead because of barriers beyond their control, such as discrimination or unacceptable prejudices. For example, Black Canadians and people from other racialized communities can face discrimination that prevents them from getting a good job despite being qualified, or from advancing in their career. Discrimination based on skin colour can also lead to social exclusion, whether in the workplace or in the community.
Indigenous peoples often face long-standing challenges rooted in Canada’s colonial history, which has marginalized generations and led to poverty. As well, persons with disabilities do not have the same level of opportunity and inclusion as other Canadians when physical spaces are simply not accessible to them. Newcomers to Canada often face multiple challenges, such as learning a new language and finding work, as they try to advance. Challenges can be particularly severe when these attributes intersect: for example, for a Black Canadian woman with a disability.
Accordingly, a fundamental part of addressing poverty is to promote community and opportunity, and to remove discrimination based on gender, race, disabilities, sexual orientation or other grounds, and other roadblocks that prevent people from getting ahead.
The second pillar of Opportunity for All is aligned with the right to equality and non-discrimination under domestic law. This pillar is about fostering opportunity and movement out of poverty best site for Brest brides so that more Canadians can join the middle class and fully participate in their communities. It is about making it easier for Canadians to move up the income ladder, climb out of poverty and feel empowered through self-sufficiency.
Promoting opportunity means removing barriers and helping all Canadians excel through access to life-long education and skills development, which lead to quality jobs. These essential skills include literacy and numeracy among all Canadians, but particularly among young people, with their engagement in employment, education and training continually on the rise.
Initiatives undertaken by the Government mean Canadians will increasingly have enough income to afford not just the basic necessities, but also the other things they need to fully participate in their communities.
For many Canadians, particularly those working hard to join the middle class, this is a vision to promote engagement and social inclusion so we can thrive together, and have the support of our family, friends and everyone in our communities. Working together we can ensure that no one is left behind. This is a vision to promote full participation of all Canadians in our society.
Discrimination can also be based on other factors, such as a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity and expression
„Poverty is not an equal opportunity disabler-gender, race, and other factors bear heavily and need to be acknowledged in designing responses.”
