The Government of Canada announces the Tackling Poverty Together Project

Saint John, New Brunswick: first community to be studied

September 2, 2016        Saint John, New Brunswick      Employment and Social Development Canada

Today, the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, announced the Tackling Poverty Together Project which will inform the development of new Canadian Poverty Reduction Strategy.

This project will consist of conducting case studies in six communities to provide a regional perspective as well as a broader understanding of poverty in communities across the country. It will also allow the Government to hear directly from Canadians living in poverty and learn from organizations who deliver poverty reduction programs.

The Tackling Poverty Together Project will start in Saint John, New Brunswick, in the coming months. This work will subsequently take place in Trois-Rivières, Toronto, Winnipeg, Yellowknife and Tisdale.

Quote

“With the development of a Canadian Poverty Reduction Strategy underway, we are taking an important step towards reducing poverty in Canada. This is how we will realize our vision of a diverse, prosperous and truly inclusive country—a country where everyone can realize their full potential.”

– The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development

Quick Facts

• Canada’s low-income rate has been around 9 percent for the past decade. This means that every day, 3 million Canadians are living in poverty.
• Sixty-three percent of single, low-income seniors are women.
• About 746,000 Canadians live in a household where the main income earner is working poor.
• In 2014, more than half a million children in our country were living in low-income households.
• With the recent introduction of a much better-targeted Canada Child Benefit, about 300,000 fewer children will be living in poverty in 2017 compared with 2014.