Ontario Child Poverty Snapshot Released
December 22, 2020
Today, Ontario Campaign 2000 releases its December 2020 on child poverty, an update to the Campaign’s full April 2020 report on child poverty “April 2020 report on child poverty”:, and a companion piece to Campaign 2000’s newly released Report on Child Poverty “Beyond the Pandemic: Rising Up for a Canada Free of Poverty”.
The December 2020 Update on child poverty rates is based on the latest comprehensive data (2018) and includes:
- New data on child poverty rates for children in Ontario, both under 18 and under 6 rates
- New numbers on the depth of poverty and the poverty gap for different family types
- Rate of impact that government transfers such as the Canada Child Benefit and Ontario Child Benefit have on reducing poverty rates in Ontario
The December 2020 Update also highlights the slowing of the downward trend in child poverty rates and notes higher rates of poverty for children belonging to marginalized groups, including First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children, and children in female-led lone parent households. The Update raises the alarm on how many children living in poverty are being left out of the count, based on the Canadian and Ontario governments’ poverty measurement choices.
Even before the pandemic hit, the data has shown that the rate of reduction in Ontario has slowed. As families struggle through the pandemic to make ends meet, child poverty rates will likely be impacted. Pandemic or not, fragile, incremental gains in the reduction of poverty are not sufficient to achieve the goal of ending poverty for all children and families in Ontario.
Child and family poverty is not inevitable – it is created, enforced, and entrenched through systemic discrimination, poor policy design, funding choices, and political inaction. In order to put an end to child and family poverty for this generation and generations to come, Ontario Campaign 2000 recommends actively working towards ending systemic discrimination; improving labour standards, income security, childcare, and housing policy; and ensuring equitable access to pandemic-related supports. There is no time to lose.
Access the December 2020 Update