Toronto was the child poverty capital of Canada in 2022, new report says
CBC
Toronto had the highest poverty rate of any city or municipality in Canada with a population over 500,000 people in 2022, a new report says.
The report, authored by national anti-poverty group Campaign 2000 and Social Planning Toronto, found the city's child poverty rate jumped from 16.8 per cent to 25.3 per cent between 2020 and 2022.
"Toronto has the unfortunate distinction of being the child poverty capital of Canada," the report reads.
In 2022, some 117,890 children in the city were living in poverty.
The report uses data from income tax returns and the Canadian census, accessed through Statistics Canada.
It also incorporates data from two community conversations with experts in poverty and marginalization in Toronto that took place in 2023.
Campaign 2000 also releases an annual national report on child poverty. You can read a breakdown of this year's report here.
Child poverty rates have increased in each of Toronto's 25 wards since 2020, the report says.
In nine wards, 30 per cent of children or more were found to be living in poverty in 2022. Four of these nine wards were in Scarborough, according to the report.
Toronto Centre had the highest rate of child poverty in the city at 36.6 per cent, the report says.
It was followed by Scarborough-Guildwood, at 34.1 per cent, and Humber River-Black Creek, at 33.9 per cent.
Many census tracks, which are smaller geographic areas than wards, show the highest rates of child poverty happening in the downtown core and inner suburbs, including the city's northwest area and Scarborough.
From 2015 to 2019, Toronto's child poverty rate fell from 29.1 per cent to 22.7 per cent, a decline the report says was largely attributed to the introduction of the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) in 2016.
CCB is a tax-free monthly payment made to eligible low and middle-income families with children.
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