By Christine Wincentaylo, Laetitia Satam, and Kate Tucker
UNICEF Report Cards have existed for over 20 years and measure child and youth well-being in high-income countries worldwide. The UNICEF Report Card series has helped answer these questions:
1. How well are children in the world’s wealthiest countries experiencing childhoods?
2. Are childhoods getting better?
3. What will help countries with similar resources achieve excellent outcomes for every child?
Report Card 18 specifically compares levels of child poverty in the wealthiest countries, the progress they have been making to end child poverty, and how well their policies protect children from deprivation (1). Recommendations and reviews of specific policies are unique to Canada; background on child poverty in Canada is outlined in the report. Additionally, absolute and relative comparisons between other countries support recommendations, strengths, barriers, and future actional tasks with proven success.
What is Child Poverty?
The government of Canada does not have an official definition of poverty; however, it is often assessed by level of income. The Low Income Measure (LIM) measures poverty in UNICEF Report Card 18. It is defined as a fixed percentage of payment, and a household is considered low if its income is below a certain percentage of median household income (2). The international ‘gold standard’ for measuring income-based poverty, used by the European Union (EU), measures the number of children in households with an income less than 60 percent of the median national income, but 50 percent, or some other determination can/may be used as well in other contexts. UNICEF Report Card 18 used a LIM of 60 to acknowledge that children require more than having basic needs met to thrive in a wealthy country and set a minimum income for social inclusion and well-being (1).
Child poverty rates are calculated as the number of children in poverty divided by the number of children in the population (aged 0–17 inclusive). For everyone, but especially children, poverty is so much more than just money. The experience of living in poverty can impact children for the rest of their lives due to potentially limited access to nutritious foods, adequate shelter and clothing, safe and clean environments to play in, and an essential focus on survival rather than just being a kid. Living in poverty as a child is also a critical determinant of health and results in health-altering outcomes well beyond childhood (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2019). Child poverty levels highly depend on how healthy governments protect children from it (1). Good policies can and do reduce child poverty. Eliminating child poverty is possible in Canada using ambitious goals and effective government policies.
Summary of main findings in Report Card 18
This year’s UNICEF Report Card ranked Canada as #11, a significant improvement from the last, which placed Canada at #28 (1). While this is a substantial improvement, it is crucial to note that child poverty has risen in Canada for the first time in many years, with more than 1 million children currently being raised in poverty. Child poverty has increased from 5.2% in 2020 to 17.8% in 2021. This rise in poverty is also not equally distributed across Canada; Child poverty rates range widely in Canada, from 14% in Quebec to 38% in the territories. The lack of access to services for youth in environments reflects this
. Furthermore, Child poverty rose in every province except Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland, with the most significant increases in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. It is interesting to see such stark differences among Atlantic Canada. There have been compounding factors that have led to the rise of child poverty in Canada, stemming from navigating a post-COVID-19 world that is full of inflation-ridden prices, housing crises, and more.
Canada ranks 11th among 39 wealthy countries for its progress in reducing child poverty—image from UNICEF Canada.
When you consider all these variables, it is saddening that it is children who are the most affected by poverty. Children have the highest rate of food insecurity in the country at 24%, which is 1.8 million children. This is an additional 400,000 children to the 1.4 million children already facing food insecurity in 2021. Different households are also disproportionately affected by child poverty, such as single-parent households (3). The 2023 UNICEF report card found that for single-parent households with two children, Canada’s social protection is only 36% of the average wage (1).
Child poverty also plays a huge role in mental well-being, and it is crucial to protect youth's mental health as childhood and adolescence are times of rapid growth and development, and poverty can lead to poor health outcomes later in life. The Canadian Mental Health Association of Canada reports that the stress of living in poverty can lead to depression and anxiety and that adequate access to education, employment, and housing are core pillars to lifting youth out of poverty and thus improving their mental health (4). More than a quarter of youth hospitalized for mental health crises were from less-affluent households Canadian Institute for Health Information (5). This is evidence of how lifting children out of poverty can have a cascade effect, reducing the healthcare system's burden and ensuring children are happy and healthy.
Child poverty rates, UNICEF Canada.
So What’s Next?
Recommendations for acting on this report include:
Increasing community gardens significantly increases food security (food disparity drastically impacts child poverty), improves health, especially in marginalized communities, and even reduces crime rates and provides nutrient-rich foods, such as fruits and vegetables (6). A study found that individuals experiencing food insecurity are more vulnerable to developing a wide range of chronic conditions. Participants were 3% more likely to get diabetes, 2% more likely to get heart disease, and 1.5 % more likely to develop hypertension. This inevitably leads to a higher annual healthcare cost for food-insecure adults(7). To create a community garden differs from province to province; by searching online for “community gardens,” you can be directed to your community website, such as the city of Toronto: https://www.toronto.ca/explore-enjoy/parks-gardens-beaches/gardens-and-horticulture/urban-agriculture/community-gardens/
Community Garden
Lunch programs, nearly 1 in 3 children go to school hungry (1). School feeding programs can reduce poverty by boosting income for households and communities. For families, the value of meals in school is about 10% of a household’s income (8). These programs can increase enrolment by an average of 9%. To learn more about starting a school lunch program in your area, visit https://canadianfeedthechildren.ca/.
Stay current with MBM-C (Children’s Market Basket Measure) and help with the research. The MBM-C is a measurement that determines how the government will support children in low-income households (1). “More than 50% of the world’s poorest people are children" (9). Connect with Childcare Canada and the National Advisory Council on Poverty to help create change.
Educate yourself and others on the income support programs that benefit children in Canada such as: “Maternity benefits under the Employment Insurance (EI) program (all of Canada excluding Quebec), Parental benefits under the Employment Insurance (EI) program (all of Canada excluding Quebec), Maternity benefits under the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan, Paternity benefits under the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan, Non-shareable adoption benefits, and Shareable adoption benefits under the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP), Adoption-related welcome and support benefits, Multiple adoption, Single-parent adoption benefits, and Single-parent adoption benefits under the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP), Canada Pension Plan (CCP) children’s benefits. All these programs are located in the UNICEF Report 18. There are always pros and cons within any program, but the value of these income programs has been shown to reduce child poverty. From 2016 to 2017, impoverished children decreased from 11% to 9% (10).
Contact your local MPs and council members and ask how they address child poverty in your area. If you need help starting a conversation, here are some Citizens For Public Justice tips.
These are some ways to help create change and work towards recommendations made with the report. Let us know about other ways to work together to create a safe and healthy space for all children in Canada.
Sources:
1. UNICEF Report Card 18 [Internet]. Available from: https://www.unicef.ca/en/unicef-report-card-18
2. Towards a Poverty Reduction Strategy – A backgrounder on poverty in Canada [Internet]. Available from: https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/poverty-reduction/backgrounder.html
3. Guttmann A. Child poverty, health and health care use in Canada. Paediatr Child Health. 2001;6(8):509–13.
4. Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario. Poverty and Mental Illness [Internet]. 2007. Available from: https://ontario.cmha.ca/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/cmha_ont_poverty_backgrounder_112007.pdf
5. CIHI. Children and youth mental health in Canada [Internet]. 2019. Available from: https://www.cihi.ca/en/children-and-youth-mental-health-in-canada
6. Community Gardens Are Growing Health, Food, & Opportunity [Internet]. 2021. Available from: https://foodrevolution.org/blog/community-gardens/
7. How community gardens are tackling food insecurity [Internet]. Available from: https://home.blnkpage.org/health-science/how-community-gardens-are-tackling-food-insecurity/#:~:text=Community%20gardens%20provide%20individuals%20and%20families%20with%20separate%2C,provide%20lower-income%20households%20with%20access%20to%20nutritious%20food
8. World Food Programme. The impact of school feeding programmes [Internet]. 2019. Available from: https://docs.wfp.org/api/documents/WFP-0000102338/download/
9. Canadian Feed the Children. Child Poverty: Causes and Effects [Internet]. 2019. Available from: https://canadianfeedthechildren.ca/the-feed/child-poverty-causes-and-effects/
10. Mitchell PJ, DeBruyn R. The Pros and Cons of Canada’s Child Benefit [Internet]. 2019. Available from: https://ifstudies.org/blog/the-pros-and-cons-of-canadas-child-benefit