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More than half of all Canadians see poverty on the rise in their communities today

What does poverty look like in Canada? Survey finds one-in-four experience notable economic hardship



What does poverty look like in Canada? Survey finds one-in-four experience notable economic hardship July 17, 2018 – What does it mean to be poor in Canada? Does it mean having to rely on food banks and payday loans to make ends meet? Does it mean struggling to afford warm clothes for the winter? What about having to live far away from work or school? A new, two-part study from the Angus Reid Institute examines the state of poverty in Canada by looking at lived experiences, rather than income, with some striking results.
This first chapter of the report finds fully one-in-five Canadian adults (21%) say an inability to afford dental care has been a chronic problem for them in their lives. One-in-six are routinely unable to afford new clothes or good-quality groceries, and one-in-seven have struggled with inadequate housing – spaces that are too small or too far from work or school – throughout their lives. Looking at these experiences in aggregate, ARI researchers are able to sort the Canadian population into four groups: The Struggling (16% of the total population), those On the Edge (11%), those who are Recently Comfortable (36%), and those who are Always Comfortable (37%). As their names suggest, the Struggling are facing financial challenges that are negatively affecting their quality of life, and those On the Edge are not far from joining them. Between these two groups, more than one-quarter of the Canadian population (27%) could be described as experiencing notable financial hardship today. More Key Findings:
  • Almost one-in-three Canadians (31%) feel “very stressed about money” on a regular basis – either “often” or “all the time
  • More than half of Canadians (52%) believe poverty has been increasing where they live in recent years. Fewer than one-in-ten (9%) say poverty has been on the decline in that time
  • Three-in-ten Canadians (30%) are pessimistic about their personal financial situation over the next few years
  • More Canadians believe their children’s generation will be worse off (43% do) than themselves than believe they will be better off (32%)
Link to the poll here: Download .PDF (387 KB) with detailed tables, graphs and methodology. Media Contact: Shachi Kurl: shachi.kurl@angusreid.org @shachikurl

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Angus Reid Institute -- Bio and Archives

The Angus Reid Institute is a national, not-for-profit, non-partisan public opinion research foundation established to enhance and encourage better understanding of issues and trends affecting economic, social, governance, philanthropy, public administration, domestic and foreign policy in Canada and its world.


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