Food Banks Canada ranked Canada's poorest provinces

Canada is often thought about as one of the wealthiest countries in the world but it doesn't mean poverty isn't a problem for Canadians. Each province and territory of the country suffers from its own problems, and those problems were ranked in a first-of-its-kind report from Food Banks Canada in September 2023.

In its inaugural poverty report released on September 26th, Food Banks Canada tried to help the public understand the levels of poverty in the country at the time by breaking the information down into an easily understandable report card score for each province. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons: By Food Banks Canada, Public Domain

“These grades represent how well poverty reduction efforts are going in the provincial, territorial, and federal governments,” the report reads. The report also noted that since poverty was the result of many factors, the data relied on experiences across Canada. 

Photo Credit: Instagram @foodbankscanada

Provinces and territories were graded on how well they compared with one another as well as on four factors that included: experiences of poverty, measurements of poverty, a standard of living, and government progress on passing anti-poverty legislation.

Photo Credit: Instagram @foodbankscanada

The report was designed to assist policymakers and advocacy groups when comparing each of the country’s provinces and territories in order to see how well they are doing relative to other areas of Canada while allowing them to employ effective policies to fight poverty. 

Unfortunately, the first report revealed that most of the country was suffering from serious issues and Canada as a whole received an overall grade of D+ according to the report. Here is how the country’s provinces did and which were considered the worst in Canada. 

Experience of Poverty: C

Poverty Measures: B+

Material Deprivation: D+

Legislative Progress: B

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons: By MapGrid - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

Experience of Poverty: C-

Poverty Measures: D-

Material Deprivation: C

Legislative Progress: C

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons: By MapGrid - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

Experience of Poverty:  C-

Poverty Measures: D

Material Deprivation: A-

Legislative Progress: D

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons: By MapGrid - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

Experience of Poverty: D-

Poverty Measures: D+

Material Deprivation: D+

Legislative Progress: C

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons: By MapGrid - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

Experience of Poverty: D

Poverty Measures: D-

Material Deprivation: D-

Legislative Progress: C

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons: By MapGrid - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

Experience of Poverty: D-

Poverty Measures: D-

Material Deprivation: C-

Legislative Progress: D

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons: By MapGrid - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

Experience of Poverty: D+

Poverty Measures: D-

Material Deprivation: D-

Legislative Progress: F

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons: By MapGrid - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

Experience of Poverty: D-

Poverty Measures: D-

Material Deprivation: F

Legislative Progress: D

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons: By MapGrid - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

Experience of Poverty: D

Poverty Measures: D

Material Deprivation: D-

Legislative Progress: F

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons: By MapGrid - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

Experience of Poverty: D

Poverty Measures: F

Material Deprivation: F

Legislative Progress: F

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons: By MapGrid - Own Work, CC BY-SA 4.0

Unfortunately, the results for Canada’s three territories were inconclusive. 

“An overall lack of action on affordable housing, and improving social assistance lies at the heart of Canada's growing struggle with poverty and food insecurity,” explained Food Banks Canada’s Phil Ozga in a statement according to Toronto Star. 

Ozga was the chief network and government relations officer with Food Banks Canada at the time and added: “All governments must find a new sense of urgency and act together to combat this issue.” This was a sentiment that likely rang true with such poor poverty scores.