BC Poverty Facts

Here are some basic facts about poverty in BC. For more information, check out Poverty Reduction Questions and Answers (pdf).

By any measure, BC has the highest poverty rate in Canada – and as we head into a global economic downturn, the situation risks getting worse.

• Over half a million British Columbians – 13% of our province’s population – live in poverty. One in four are children.
• BC has had the highest child poverty rate in Canada five years in a row.
• Most poor people are working. More than half of BC’s poor children live in families where at least one parent has a full-time job.
• According to the 2008 Metro Vancouver Homelessness Count, there are more than 2,660 homeless people in the region. That’s more than double the number of homeless counted in 2002 (a 137% increase).
• Women, Aboriginal people, recent immigrants and refugees, and people with disabilities, mental health issues and/or addictions are most vulnerable to poverty.
• There’s nothing inevitable about poverty.

Statements and News Releases

• Read the February 5, 2009 news release.
• Download a pdf of the open letter to BC political parties: English | Chinese |Punjabi

• View the open letter and signatories in HTML format.

Build the Call: A Guide to Engaging Politicians

A guide to engaging your representatives and making sure they hear our call for poverty reduction in BC. This short guide will give you some tips for Getting Started, provide you with a briefBreakdown of poverty in BC, and offer suggestions for someEngaging Questions.
Download the pdf.

Information resources from other organizations

The Cost of Eating in BC 2009 – Imagine being $127 ‘in debt’ after your monthly rent is paid and you’ve bought groceries for you and your family, leaving no money for other necessities such as clothing, transportation and school supplies. According to the latest The Cost of Eating in BC report, this is the situation for a family of four living on income assistance in this province. View the report.

Child Poverty Report Card 2009 – released in November 2009 by BC Campaign 2000, First Call: Child & Youth Advocacy Coalition and SPARC BC. Read the news release or download the report.

A Poverty Reduction Plan for BC – In December 2008, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives published a comprehensive plan to dramatically reduce poverty and homelessness. Read the CCPA’s news release or download a summary of the study.

Healthy Futures for BC Families – The BC Healthy Living Alliance presents this discussion of the policy responses necessary to address those social issues that can impede or enhance the health of a society, including access to:  affordable housing, early childhood development and care, income and food security, and supportive environments. View report.

Housing and Support for Adults with Severe Addictions and/or Mental Illness in British Columbia – This SFU study found there are 11,750 ‘absolutely homeless’ in BC with severe addictions and/or mental illnesses, costing $644 million per year — or $55,000 per person — in health care, correctional, and social services. Download the study here.

Health Inequities in British Columbia Discussion Paper – From the Health Officers Council of BC. Download the report.

BC’s Growing Gap: Family Income Inequality, 1976-2006 – A new study reveals that BC’s poor and middle class families are in worse financial shape than their parents’ generation. The study finds that fully 60% of families with children are earning less than their counterparts in the late 1970s, while incomes for the wealthiest 10% have increased dramatically. The result is a widening gap between the rich and the rest of the population. Download the report.

Still Left Behind 2008 – A Social Planning and Research Council of BC report, February 2008. A follow-up to the 2005 report, Left Behind A Comparison of Living Costs and Employment Assistance Rates in BC, showing that people are still not able to cover basic monthly costs of living. Download the report.

Precarious & Vulnerable: Lone Mothers on Income Assistance – A Social Planning and Research Council of BC report, December 2008. This report explores the impact income assistance changes made by the BC government in 2002 have had on lone mothers with young children. Download the report.

The Cost of Eating in BC 2007 – From the Dietitians of Canada and the Community Nutritionists’ Council of BC. Finds that a family of four receiving income assistance (welfare) in BC would need to spend 45% of their income just to purchase enough healthy food. Read more, or download the full report.

Poverty is Making us Sick: A Comprehensive Survey of Income and Health in Canada– From Social Planning Toronto. Download the report.

Population Health: The New Agenda – Video by Vancouver Coastal Health on the social determinants of health and the some of the impacts of poverty in the community of North Vancouver.

Watch the video on Lemongrass Media.
Download the accompanying worksheet.

The Time is Now – Videos by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

Watch the complete slide show from CCPA on Vimeo.