More than one-quarter of the metropolitan area’s population has experienced poverty in recent years, according to a study by the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) commissioned by Centraide of Greater Montreal.
The study shows that 26 per cent of adults lived below the poverty line for at least one year between 2016 and 2023. “Poverty really affects a lot of people,” said Tasha Lackman, the foundation’s president and CEO, in an interview.
On an annual basis, the poverty rate is estimated to have fluctuated between 10 per cent and 12 per cent starting in 2020. When tracking the situation over a longer period, it becomes clear that poverty is a more widespread phenomenon than year-over-year statistics suggest, according to the results released on Thursday.
Poverty is also a persistent experience over the years, according to longitudinal data from Statistics Canada, which tracks the situation over several years.
During this period, 14 per cent lived in poverty for at least three years, compared with 12 per cent who experienced one to two years of poverty.
“Breaking free from poverty isn’t easy when you’re living with its consequences,” says Lackman.
She recounts a recent conversation she had with the organizers of a scholarship program for high school students from low-income backgrounds. For some families, paying for public transportation so their children could attend educational activities was a challenge.
This example illustrates the obstacles faced by people living in poverty. “For those who may have fewer difficulties, it’s hard to realize just how difficult it can be to pay for a bus ticket—even just to go to a job interview or for the first few days on the job before receiving a paycheck,” explains Lackman.
Immigrants most affected
Persistent poverty is more common among recent immigrants (22 per cent) as well as those who have been in Canada for more than ten years (20 per cent), according to the INRS study.
The data also show an increase in economic insecurity among seniors. Severe persistent poverty rose from just one per cent between 1992 and 1999 to 11 per cent between 2016 and 2023.
Canada fares relatively well in the fight against poverty among seniors, thanks to programs such as the Old Age Security (OAS) pension and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), but wealth inequalities among seniors remain significant, notes the study’s author and INRS professor, Xavier St-Denis, in a separate interview.
This gap is largely due to retirement savings accumulated during one’s working life. The most vulnerable find themselves in a situation where they have very little savings by age 65. As renters, they cannot rely on the value of their home. “There are fairly significant wealth inequalities in Quebec,” the researcher notes.
Increasing social assistance
To reduce poverty, the report proposes increasing government benefits, particularly social assistance.
Single adults under 65 are particularly disadvantaged, while seniors and families receive greater support from the government.
An adult “without health limitations” is entitled to a social assistance benefit of $845 per month, according to the Quebec government’s website. This amount rises to $1,014 for a person with health limitations.
Social assistance is not enough to lift people out of poverty, regardless of their health status, the report emphasizes, suggesting that benefits be increased.
The fear that this increase would discourage recipients from working did not materialize with the government benefits paid to families.
“The benefits increased without having a negative effect on mothers’ labor force participation,” notes St-Denis. “On the contrary, it had a particularly positive effect on poverty among single mothers.”
Lackman also highlights the importance of public housing in helping the most disadvantaged find decent housing. “We see, for example, in the study that in neighborhoods with more public housing, people are less likely to fall into poverty,” she notes.
Lackman is pleased to see that the Parti Québécois (PQ) has made homelessness a priority.
She insists, however, that this is only the visible “tip of the iceberg” of poverty. “We must ensure that our politicians and society at large understand the urgency of the situation, when one in four people has experienced poverty,” she argues.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
Keep it Factual
Add CityNews Montreal as a trusted source on Google to see more local stories from us.
