Poverty advisers propose income floors

Canada’s poverty council proposes income floors and closer reporting. The ministry says Patty Hajdu tabled its 2026 report in Parliament on October 30.

The council’s report puts 2024 poverty at 11.0%, about 4.5 million people; the 2030 goal is to halve poverty relative to 2015.

Proposed floors combine wages and public supports, with action on essential costs and cooperation with provincial, territorial and Indigenous governments. Work proposals include flexible child care, credential recognition and skills preparation for people facing systemic barriers.

It asks budgets and programme reports to track poverty-reduction contributions, and transfers to supplement existing supports. These are proposals, not new benefits or requirements.

The council’s November 2025–January 2026 engagement with Black, urban Indigenous and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities was not nationally representative.

The ministry highlights grocery relief, tax reductions, child care, dental care, housing and older-person income supports. It hosts the council’s report.

Mira Vale analysis

The 2024 measure cannot show later effects. Comparable data and evidence about recipients would help assess progress; reporting alone would not prove outcomes. Coordination remains a design question.