- BC has had the worst child poverty record of any province for seven consecutive years. The child poverty rate in BC is 10.4% - that’s 87,000 children living in poverty, based on the Statistic’s Canada after tax Low-Income Cut Off (Statistics Canada).
- The rate of poverty for BC children living in two-parent families rose from 7 percent in 2007 to 9.2 percent in 2008, meaning an additional 17,000 children in two-parent families in BC were poor (Statistics Canada).
- The national poverty rate for First Nations children was 49% in 2007 (First Call).
- According to the Ministry of Housing and Social Development, the number of people on welfare in BC has climbed from 145,700 in March 2008 to 179,394 in March of 2010, an increase of 33,674 people.
- Government spending is positively correlated with child poverty and does not have a negative effect on global competitiveness. For example, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Switzerland all spend more, have a lower child poverty rate and are more competitive than Canada (UNICEF).
- Between 1989 and 2006, the richest 10% of the Canadian population saw their income grow by 30% (or $47591 total). The bottom 10%, however, saw their income drop by almost 8% (or $1309 total).
