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.

Income of individuals by age group, sex and income source, Canada, provinces and selected census metropolitan areas, annual.

In 2023, 25.5 percent of the Canadian population had an annual income of 100,000 Canadian dollars or more. Moreover, some 19 percent had an annual income between 60,000 and 79,999 Canadian dollars, representing the second-largest group.

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

The Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) is conducted annually to obtain work experience and income information from Canadian households. The Survey provides up-to-date information on the distribution and sources of income, before and after taxes, for families and individuals. With this file, users may identify specific family types, such as two-parent and lone-parent families. Information is also provided on earnings, transfers, and total income for the head and the spouse of the census family unit, as well as personal and labour-related characteristics. This reference year for this file is 1997. Commencing with the 1998 microdata files, annual cross-sectional income data will be sourced from the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID).

This statistic depicts the median annual family income in Canada in 2021, distinguished by province. In 2021, the median annual family income in Alberta was 106,960 Canadian dollars.

The Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) is conducted annually to obtain work experience and income information from Canadian households. The Survey provides up-to-date information on the distribution and sources of income, before and after taxes, for families and individuals. With this file, users may identify specific family types, such as two-parent and lone-parent families. Information is also provided on earnings, transfers, and total income for the head and the spouse of the census family unit, as well as personal and labour-related characteristics. This reference year for this file is 1996. Commencing with the 1998 microdata files, annual cross-sectional income data will be sourced from the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID).