Social assistance keeps people poor: New Maytree policy brief shows what must change
Despite decades of economic growth, social assistance in Canada continues to keep people in deep poverty. A new policy brief from Maytree, From data to action: Policy implications of Welfare in Canada, 2024, reveals that current income-security policies are inadequate and fail to ensure the human right to an adequate standard of living for everyone.
The analysis finds:
- Welfare incomes remain deeply inadequate across Canada; some unattached single adults are expected to survive on as little as 27% of the Official Poverty Line
- Shelter benefits are so low they can’t cover even a room in most major cities, fueling homelessness.
- The new Canada Disability Benefit will have minimal impact due to its low amount, restrictive eligibility, and clawbacks in Alberta.
“Poverty is not inevitable – it’s the result of policy choices,” said Jennefer Laidley, Maytree fellow. “Our brief connects the data to the consequences people face every day and outlines how governments can align policy with human rights.”
The brief offers seven recommendations to reform Canada’s income-security system, including raising and indexing benefits, extending shelter supports to unhoused people, and redesigning the Canada Disability Benefit.
“We know what works,” said Alexi White, Maytree’s Director of Systems Change. “Provinces and territories must raise and index benefits, shelter supports must reflect real housing costs, and the Canada Disability Benefit must be fixed so it actually reduces disability poverty.”