Canada

Statistics Canada, the country’s national statistical agency, does not measure poverty, but produces estimates of low income that serve as proxies for poverty. Like other countries of comparable economies and political structures, Canada has experienced some progress in reducing poverty in some segments of the population, whereas reducing poverty in other segments has been challenging. Depending on the measure used, between 2.96 million (8.8 percent) and 4 million (12.9 percent) of people in Canada live below the after-tax low-income threshold. Seven of Canada’s ten provinces have official poverty reduction plans. Similar to other advanced economies, Canada is experiencing rising inequality that is explained by increased global trade, a “hollowing out” of the labor market with increased demand for high- and low-skilled labor, more advanced technology, ...