This policy brief shows that since 2020, poverty rates in Ontario are up sharply and have been climbing more rapidly than the average rate in Canada. The most recent data from the 2024 Canadian Income Survey shows Ontario trailing only British Columbia for the highest rate of poverty among the provinces, as defined by the 2023-base Market Basket Measure (MBM), Canada’s Official Poverty Line.
With nearly two million Ontarians living in poverty in 2024, the province accounted for 45 per cent of all poverty in Canada but only 39 per cent of the population. At 15.4 per cent, Toronto’s 2024 poverty rate was higher than that of any other major city; nearly one in four people living in poverty in Canada in 2024 resided in Toronto.
Data presented suggests provincial policies are largely to blame for Ontario’s high rates of poverty and poor performance relative to other provinces. Key points in the brief include:
- Child poverty is up dramatically since 2020
- Unattached singles continue to have the highest poverty rates
- Significant disparities in poverty rates persist among equity-deserving populations
- A large proportion of the low-income population in Ontario is living in unaffordable housing
- Poverty in Ontario is high, rising, and increasingly difficult to escape
The brief concludes by stating, “Ontario has the resources and policy tools to reduce poverty. What has been missing is the willingness to use them at the scale required. The next PRS (poverty reduction strategy) can chart a different path.”
Published By: Maytree
Publication Date: August, 2026
Click here to access Poverty in Ontario: A province falling behind
