Canada vowed to end poverty by 2030, yet progress has stalled. The government can't wait any longer to deliver real solutions.

In 2018, the Trudeau government launched Opportunity for All, Canada's first-ever national poverty reduction strategy. It established an official poverty line and set legislated poverty reduction targets: a 20 per cent cut by 2020, and a 50 per cent cut by 2030, compared to 2015 levels. The plan also created the National Advisory Council on Poverty, tasked with monitoring progress and holding governments accountable.

At the time, the ambition was clear: build a Canada without poverty, where economic growth actually lifts everyone.

Between 2015 and 2019, poverty declined. New investments like the Canada Child Benefit, enhancements to the Guaranteed Income Supplement, and improvements to the Canada Workers Benefit helped millions of Canadians. The government showed that poverty is not inevitable it is a policy choice.

But in recent years, that progress has stalled. Disappointedly, we are seeing the highest increases in poverty on record. 

According to Statistics Canada, 3.8 million people were living in poverty in 2022. By 2023, the most recent numbers available, the official poverty rate had risen to 10.2 per cent, up from 9.9 per cent the year before. For the first time since the strategy began, poverty is climbing. At this pace, Canada risks missing its 2030 target and could even fall behind the 2020 benchmark it has already achieved.

This isn't just a matter of numbers. Rising poverty means more workers unable to keep up with rent or groceries despite holding down jobs, and more children growing up with the stress and stigma of going without. It means food insecurity, already at record highs, will deepen, disproportionately affecting communities that already face systemic barriers, including Indigenous, Black, and single-parent-led households. And it means homelessness, which has already doubled in Canada since 2018, will become even more prevalent. 

We are seeing these trends because a growing number of people are worse off. In the first quarter of 2025, income inequality reached another record high, beating the previous record set last year. Inequality is growing at precisely the moment when public trust in institutions is fraying.

Clearly, the problem isn't that Canada lacks a strategy. It's that the political urgency we saw in 2018 has faded. Under Carney's government, the conversation has shifted toward fiscal restraint, budget cuts, and austerity measures, even as millions of Canadians struggle to make ends meet. 

Poverty reduction is no longer treated as a national priority. 

With the federal budget set to be released on November 4, we don't need to be told to wait for further economic growth to justify spending today. We need concrete action.

Canada has already proven what works: strong income supports, investments in housing, child care, and public services, and a commitment to measure progress and act on evidence. What's missing now is the will to stay the course.

The cost of inaction on poverty far outweighs any investment required to address it. Every dollar spent on social programs, income supports, and targeted benefits is dwarfed by the long-term consequences of poverty: poorer health outcomes, lower educational attainment, lost productivity, and increased social service expenditures. One study from 2008 estimates the annual cost of poverty at roughly $80 billion, a figure that is undoubtedly higher today.

And, again, the numbers only capture a sliver of the story. There are profound moral costs in allowing fellow Canadians to struggle needlessly and democratic costs as well: widening inequality erodes trust in institutions, undermines social cohesion, and threatens the legitimacy of our political system. Poverty is not just an economic issue. It is a test of our values as a society and the strength of our democracy.

At a time of rising polarization and extremism we can and must do more. 

If Canada fails to deliver on its own legislated targets, it will not just be a policy failure; it will be a betrayal of the millions of people who were told they would not be left behind. Poverty reduction was never meant to be a short-term experiment. It was supposed to be a heartfelt commitment backed by tangible actions. It's time for the Canadian government to step up.