Low income cut-offs (LICOs) before and after tax by community size and family size, in current dollars, annual.

This table contains 8840 series, with data for years 2012 - 2012 (not all combinations necessarily have data for all years). This table contains data described by the following dimensions (Not all combinations are available): Geography (13 items: Canada; Atlantic provinces; Newfoundland and Labrador; Prince Edward Island; ...); Low income lines (4 items: Low income cut-offs after tax, 1992 base; Low income cut-offs before tax, 1992 base; Market basket measure, 2011 base; Low income measure after tax); Statistics (5 items: Number of persons in low income; Percentage of persons in low income; Average gap ratio (percent); Median gap ratio (percent); ...); Persons in low income (34 items: All persons; Persons under 18 years; Persons 18 to 64 years; Persons 65 years and over; ...).

In 2022, 9.9 percent of all Canadians were living in low income. Between 2000 and 2022, the percentage of population with low income experienced a decrease, reaching the lowest value in 2020. The highest share of Canadians with low income was recorded in 2015, with 14.5 percent of the total population.

Low Income Measures

The low income measures (LIMs) were developed by Statistics Canada in the 1990s. They, along with the low income cut-offs (LICOs) and the market basket measure (MBM), were created in order to measure and track the low income population of Canada. With low income measures, individuals are classified as being in low income if their income falls below fifty percent of the median adjusted household income. The median income is adjusted in order to reflect the differing financial needs of households based on the number of its members. The low income measures are a useful tool to compare low income populations between countries as they do not rely on an arbitrary standard of what constitutes the threshold for poverty. Statistics Canada insists that the low income measures are not meant to be representative of a poverty rate. The department has no measure which they define as a measurement of poverty in Canada. Latest data and trends In 2022, around 2.1 million people were living in low income families in Canada. This figure has been fluctuating over the years, both in absolute numbers and in proportion over the total population. More women than men were living in low income families in 2022, though the number of men in low income has risen at twice the rate as that of women. One of the more drastic changes has been the rise in the number of single individuals living in low income, increasing by more than 60 percent since 2000.

Low income statistics by age, sex and economic family type, annual.

Number of persons in low income, low income rate and average gap ratio by age, sex and economic family type, annual.

This table provides information on the number of years in low income over an eight-year period among Canadian taxfilers. The years in low-income may or may not be adjacent to each other. The low income measure (LIM) is used to identify low income taxfilers. The LIM threshold is calculated as half of the median of the adjusted family after-tax income of all taxfilers and their family members. This table uses two different types of LIM: the variable LIM is based on the median total income re-calculated each year, while the fixed LIM is based on the median total income in 2002 adjusted yearly by the all-items Consumer Price Index.

Low income measure (LIM) thresholds by household size for market income, total income and after-tax income, in current and constant dollars, annual.

The number of persons in economic families with low income in Canada was 2.8 million in 2022. Between 1976 and 2022, the number rose by 370,000, though the increase followed an uneven trajectory rather than a consistent upward trend.

In 2021, around 0.9 million people were living in low income families in Ontario. Ontario had the largest number of individuals living in low income households. Quebec and British Columbia followed with 504 thousand and 287 thousand, respectively.

This table provides statistics on year-over-year low-income transitions, including low income entry and exit rates, low income resistance, and low income immobility rates among Canadian taxfilers. The low income measure (LIM) is used to identify low income taxfilers. The LIM threshold is calculated as half of the median of the adjusted family after-tax income of all taxfilers and their family members. This table uses two different types of LIM: the variable LIM is based on the median total income re-calculated year, while the fixed LIM is based on the median total income in 2002 adjusted yearly by the all-items Consumer Price Index.

In 2022, the number of persons under 18 years in economic families with low income in Canada was 888,000. Between 1976 and 2022, the figure dropped by 139,000, though the decline followed an uneven course rather than a steady trajectory.

Poverty and low-income statistics by disability status, age group, sex and economic family type, Canada, annual.

Low income statistics by age, sex and economic family type, Canada, provinces and selected census metropolitan areas (CMAs)

Individual low-income status by low-income measure (before and after tax), age and gender for Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions.

Individual low-income status for economic family characteristics (in couple, with and without children, one-parent families) by low-income measure (before and after tax).

Canada CA: Income Share Held by Lowest 10% data was reported at 2.900 % in 2019. This records an increase from the previous number of 2.800 % for 2018. Canada CA: Income Share Held by Lowest 10% data is updated yearly, averaging 2.700 % from Dec 1971 (Median) to 2019, with 43 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2.900 % in 2019 and a record low of 1.700 % in 1971. Canada CA: Income Share Held by Lowest 10% data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Canada – Table CA.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. Percentage share of income or consumption is the share that accrues to subgroups of population indicated by deciles or quintiles.;World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are mostly from the Luxembourg Income Study database. For more information and methodology, please see http://pip.worldbank.org.;;The World Bank’s internationally comparable poverty monitoring database now draws on income or detailed consumption data from more than 2000 household surveys across 169 countries. See the Poverty and Inequality Platform (PIP) for details (www.pip.worldbank.org).

This table contains statistics that describe the duration of low income spells experienced by Canadian taxfilers in an eight-year period. A low income spell refers to a period in which a person stays in low income. It can last one year or several years consecutively. The length of the spell is referred to as its duration and is measured in years. The low income measure (LIM) is used to identify low income taxfilers. The LIM threshold is calculated as half of the median of the adjusted family after-tax income of all taxfilers and their family members. This table uses two different types of LIM: the variable LIM is based on the median total income re-calculated each year, while the fixed LIM is based on the median total income in 2002 adjusted yearly by the all-items Consumer Price Index.

Income data has been used extensively by researchers to better understand the economic well-being of Canadians. To meet the needs of these users, Statistics Canada has produced numerous cross-sectional public use microdata files (PUMFs). PUMFs for the Survey of Consumer Finance (SCF) were released until reference year 1997. With the end of the SCF, PUMFs for the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID) were produced for reference years 1996 to 2011. The Canadian Income Survey (CIS) was introduced for the 2012 reference year. The CIS is a cross-sectional survey developed to provide information on the income and income sources of Canadians, with their individual and household characteristics. It is a short questionnaire which is asked of a sub-sample of respondents to the Labour Force Survey (LFS), gathering information on labour market activity, school attendance, support payments, child care expenses, inter-household transfers, personal income, food security and characteristics and costs of housing. The CIS content is supplemented with information from the LFS on individual and household characteristics (e.g. age, educational attainment, main job characteristics, and family type) and with tax data for income and income sources (Statistics Canada, 2021). The CIS PUMF is an anonymized microdata file that contains only a subset of variables that are available on the CIS master file. Various techniques have been employed to protect CIS respondents against the risk of disclosure.

Individual low-income status for economic family characteristics (in couple, with and without children, one-parent families) by low-income measure (before and after tax).

Number of persons in low income, low income rate and average gap ratio by age, sex and economic family type, annual.