News and Events

A Future Without Poverty: National Dialogue 2025

October 17, 2025 | 12:00 – 2:00 PM EST
Online Webinar

Join us on the United Nations International Day for the Eradication of Poverty for a national conversation on poverty and inequality in Canada. This virtual event will bring together organizations, advocates, and individuals from across the country to spotlight solutions, amplify voices, and build momentum for lasting change.

This year, 45 organizations have endorsed a national briefing note, highlighting the collective call to action on poverty in Canada. The French version of the national briefing note is now available in the link above!

Together, we’ll examine the systemic drivers of poverty, share innovative strategies, and strengthen connections among communities working toward a future where everyone can thrive. Make sure to stay until the end of the webinar for an inspiring call to action and collective reflection on how we can build a Canada free from poverty.

Register for the event here!

 For outreach and network sharing: please contact [email protected] — and make sure to CC us when emailing your MPs!

Meet the Speakers, Host, and Moderator

The speakers, host, and moderator of A Future Without Poverty: National Dialogue 2025 represent a powerful lineup of leaders, advocates, and changemakers advancing equity and poverty eradication across Canada.

Speakers include Jack Bogaard, Jasmine Ramze Rezaee, Rabia Khedr, Dr. Melanie Doucet, Amanda Therrien, Stacia Stewart, and Scott MacAfee, each bringing deep expertise in community development, social policy, disability justice, youth advocacy, and gender equity.

The event will be hosted by Leila Sarangi, Senior Director of Strategy & Innovation at Family Service Toronto and National Director of Campaign 2000, and moderated by Michael Redhead Champagne, a celebrated community leader, speaker, and author.

Click here and learn more about the individuals shaping this national conversation toward a future without poverty.

2024 Alberta Child and Family Poverty Report Card

Public Interest Alberta and the Alberta College of Social Workers have released the 2024 Alberta Child and Family Poverty Report Card, as part of the national Campaign 2000 initiative. Drawing on the latest tax data and census information, the report examines how poverty continues to affect children and families across the province, while also highlighting key policy gaps and opportunities for action.

The findings reveal that child poverty in Alberta remains persistently high, with thousands of children lacking access to basic needs such as safe housing, nutritious food, and affordable child care. Families continue to face rising costs, stagnant wages, and inadequate income supports. The report calls for urgent policy action to ensure that all children have the resources they need to thrive, including investments in affordable housing, comprehensive child care, income security measures, and targeted support for marginalized communities.

Read the full 2024 Alberta Report Card here!

2024 Newfoundland and Labrador Child and Family Poverty Report Card

The Jimmy Pratt Foundation and Choices for Youth have released the 2024 Newfoundland and Labrador Child and Family Poverty Report Card, marking the province’s third year in the national Campaign 2000 initiative. Drawing on 2022 tax data, the 2020 census, and insights from over 100 community organizations, the report highlights how poverty is affecting children, youth, and families across the province.

Child poverty is rising sharply, with one in four children under six living in poverty, the highest rate in Canada. Housing and food insecurity have worsened, and youth mental health has declined significantly. While recent government investments in poverty reduction strategies and child care are positive steps, the report underscores the need for stronger action on guaranteed income, affordable housing and transportation, child care access, and equitable support for Indigenous and newcomer communities.

Read the full 2024 Report Card here!

HLPF Virtual Side Event; Partnerships in Practice: The Value of Human Rights-Based Partnership and Engagement

Our HLPF 2025 virtual side event, co-hosted by the South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario, Campaign 2000: End Child and Family Poverty, Family Service Toronto, Citizens for Public Justice, and the Asia Development Alliance, explored how rights-based partnerships can strengthen the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 17. Speakers emphasized that placing rights-holders at the centre is key to fostering more equitable and impactful partnerships.

[Click here to watch the full event on our YouTube channel]

Let’s get poverty on the agenda! Election updates and resources.

The federal election is just over a week away and it comes amidst a trade war that is hurting low-income individuals and families the most.

In March, Campaign 2000 released a statement calling for the federal government to put people living in poverty at the centre of their response to the trade war. But federal parties have largely remained silent on the issue. National Director of Campaign 2000, Leila Sarangi, spoke to Global News yesterday about the lack of attention to people living in poverty during the 2025 federal election campaign.

Watch the segment on Global News.

Let’s get poverty on the agenda. We’ve compiled a list of open letters, campaigns, and election resources to support your advocacy.

Open Letters & Statements

Campaign 2000 has also signed on to the following open letters and statements:

Campaigns

  • Demand Better. A coalition of feminist organizations, including Campaign 2000, launched the Demand Better campaign to call for strong investments in public systems and policies to create an economy that benefits everyone. https://demandbettertoday.ca/
  • Vote For Rights. Amnesty International Canada, Oxfam Canada, the National Right to Housing Network, among others, launched the Vote for Rights campaign to call on the next federal government to have justice, dignity, and equality as its foundational principles: https://amnesty.ca/vote-for-rights/
  • Stand on Guard for Child Care. Child Care Now launched a campaign for the next federal government to extend and defend $10 a day child care: https://childcarenow.ca/stand-on-guard-for-child-care/
  • No More Scraps. Community Food Centres Canada launched a campaign for the next federal government to address food insecurity and protect the right to food: https://www.foodsecuritynow.ca/

Resources

Please share widely! For information on the election process and how to cast your ballot, visit the Elections Canada website.

People living in poverty must be central to federal response amidst a tariff war

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

People living in poverty must be central to federal response amidst a tariff war

Winnipeg, Manitoba – Anti-poverty advocates convene in Winnipeg, where some of the highest rates of poverty in Canada are found, amid tariff wars and an impending federal election, to discuss the effects of the current political climate on low income individuals and families. 

“We don’t know the full effects of the trade war on the economy or on people in our communities.  But what we do know is that poverty has been on the rise in Canada since the pandemic.  Our current social infrastructure is unable to support those who are already living in poverty,” said Leila Sarangi, National Director of Campaign 2000.  “With mass job losses on the horizon, and tariffs compounding the current affordability crisis, we expect more people to fall into poverty, which will increase demand for community programs and resources such as rent supplements, food banks, Employment Insurance, social assistance and mental health counselling supports.”

Campaign 2000, a pan-Canadian coalition of over 120 organizations working to end child and family poverty, found historic increases in poverty from 2020 to 2022, with more than 1.5 million people falling into poverty in those two years alone.  6.5 million people now live in poverty, according to taxfiler data, including 830,000 families with children.  Poverty in Canada is disproportionately experienced by groups who are marginalized, and it is concerning that the new federal cabinet, intending to signal a renewed focus on the economy, eliminates dedicated ministers responsible for social development, children and youth, women and gender, disabilities, seniors, diversity and inclusion, all of which are essential to a productive and dynamic economy.

“Today’s convening comes at a pivotal time in the movement to end poverty,” added Sarangi. “The coalition is united in the call to strengthen our communities, particularly in a time of crisis.”

You are invited to join the conversation, hosted by the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg with anti-poverty advocates, policy experts and community organizers who will provide perspectives on the current political climate and how it will impact on low income individuals and families. 

WHAT: Fireside Chat (50 mins)

WHO: Hosted by Social Planning Council of Winnipeg and Campaign 2000

  • Moderator: Richard Cloutier, Host 680 CJOB
  • Michael Redhead Champagne, Helper, Author, Speaker, Host
  • Marie Christian, National Advisory Council on Poverty
  • Diana Sarosi, Oxfam Canada

WHEN: Friday March 21, 2025, 6:10pm

WHERE: Alt Hotel, 310 Donald St, Winnipeg, 8th Floor Banquet Hall

-30-

Media contact: Leila Sarangi, National Director of Campaign 2000, [email protected], 647-393-109

Campaign 2000 is a coalition of organizations working to end child and family poverty.  Please visit www.campaign2000.ca for more information.

Download the press release

2024 Disability Report: Canada earns an F on addressing disability poverty

On December 3, Disability Without Poverty and Campaign 2000 released the 2024 Disability Poverty Report Card, underscoring Canada’s continued neglect in addressing disability poverty. Read the press release

This year’s report highlights the stark realities faced by over 1.5 million Canadians with disabilities, with poverty rates twice as high as those for the general population. Despite the recent passage of the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB), the report finds that the federal government’s efforts fall drastically short.

Key findings include:

  • 16.8% of people with disabilities live in poverty.
  • Poverty rates for people with disabilities are twice as high as for those without disabilities.
  • People with disabilities would need an average of 30% more income to reach the poverty line.

The 2024 Disability Poverty Report card assigns Canada a failing grade for inadequate action and calls on all levels of government to strengthen the Canada Disability Benefit to ensure it can truly help reduce poverty for people with disabilities.

What can you do to make an impact?

  • Read and share the 2024 Disability Poverty Report Card and infographic with your networks.
  • Share key findings on social media – please tag @Disability_WP and @Campaign2000 and use the hashtag #DisabilityPovertyReportCard2024.
  • Write to your federal government representatives to urgently adopt the recommendations in this report.

Visit https://www.disabilitywithoutpoverty.ca/2024-disability-poverty-report-card/ to read more and take action today!

Ending child poverty: the time is now

It’s been 35 years since the federal government promised to uphold children’s rights by ratifying the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and eradicate child poverty by the year 2000 by passing a unanimous resolution in the House of Commons.

Campaign 2000 is commemorating this day with the release of their suite of national, provincial, territorial and Toronto child and family poverty report cards.

The national report card, Ending Child Poverty: The Time is Now found that in the last two years, Canada experienced record increases in the rates of child and family poverty, of nearly 5 percentage points total.  That means an additional 360,000 children fell into poverty – in total, nearly 1.4 million children were living in poverty in 2022 or roughly one in five children.

The jump in poverty rates in 2021 was the first increase in 10 years and the latest increase in 2022 was the largest on record, signaling a failure of the federal poverty reduction strategy to sustain progress made with the Canada Child Benefit and the temporary emergency pandemic benefits.  Across all family types, families were living in deeper poverty than they were in 2015, the year the federal poverty reduction strategy measures progress from.  Custom data shows that the Canada Child Benefit has lost its power to sustain poverty reduction and that income inequality among families with children is widening.

Available data continue to show that children from systemically marginalized groups experience significantly disproportionately high poverty rates resulting from historic and present colonialism, systemic racism, ableism and intersecting systemic inequities. 

Ending Child Poverty: The Time is Now is a call to action.  It includes 58 bold but achievable community-driven recommendations spanning social and economic equity, income security, decent work, housing, childcare, public health and more.  It is the last report card that will be released before the next federal election, and all federal parties have an opportunity to lay out their plan to stem the rise of poverty in our communities and in our families and work towards eradicating it once and for all.  It is possible, and the time is now.

Key Findings from the 2024 National Report Card:

  • Nearly 1.4 million children live in poverty in Canada, or roughly 1 in 5 children.
  • From 2021 to 2022, the child poverty rate rose by 2.5 percentage points, the largest annual increase in child poverty on record (+195,170 children).
  • Families are living in deeper poverty.  On average, family incomes fell $14, 276 below the low income measure, after tax in 2022 compared to $10,050 in 2015.
  • Child poverty increased in every province and territory.  The highest increase for children under 18 was in Nunavut (+6 percentage points) and among the provinces in Ontario (+3.5 percentage points).
  • More than 110,000 families with children fell into poverty in 2022.
  • Nearly all children (99%) under 18 years old who do not live in families live in poverty.
  • Nearly one in two children (45%) growing up in lone-parent families live in poverty.
  • The Canada Child Benefit (CCB) is losing effectiveness.  On average, it reduced child poverty by 8.8 percentage points annually.  In 2022, it reduced child poverty by 7.8 percentage points, the lowest reduction to date.
  • In 2019, the Minister of Disability inclusion was given a mandate to double the amount of the Child Disability Benefit.  To date, there has been no movement in this urgent area.
  • Poverty rates for First Nations, Inuit and Métis children remain significantly higher than rates for non-Indigenous children.  Ending poverty for First Nations, Inuit and Métis children and families depends on realizing their rights to their traditional lands, territories and resources. 
  • Racialized and immigrant children experience disproportionately high rates of child poverty due to systemic racism, discrimination and barriers to services and employment. 
  • There is wide income inequality among families with children.  The after-tax average income for families with children in the top 10% was 18 times higher than the average income of those in the bottom 10%.
  • Addressing intersectional and systemic discrimination with poverty reduction initiatives is essential to reducing the high poverty rates experienced by children from disproportionately marginalized groups.
  • New investments are needed, including broadening access to the CCB, creating a new End Child Poverty Supplement for those in low income, and ensuring adequacy of the CCB children’s disability benefit.
  • Establishment of a standard $0-$10 a day per family sliding scale fee model of childcare to enable access for families in poverty is needed. Canada’s universal childcare plan must include low income children.

Want to read more?

Click on the following links to read and download the 2024 report cards.

English National Report Card and Press Release
French National Report Card and Press Release

English Ontario Report Card and Press Release
French Ontario Report Card and Press Release

Alberta 2024 Report Card

British Columbia Report Card

Manitoba Report Card and Press Release

New Brunswick Report Card – in English and in French and Press Release

Newfoundland and Labrador 2024 ChildYouth Poverty Report Card

Nova Scotia Report Card and Press Release

Nunavut Report Card and Press Release

PEI Report Card and Press Release

Toronto Report Card and Press Release

Disability Poverty Report Card and Press Release; French national report, Press Release

Campaign 2000 federal pre-Budget 2025 submission

On August 2nd, Campaign 2000 submitted its priority recommendations for the federal Budget 2025.

There are serious concerns with the increase in poverty numbers and rates across the country.  Recommendations to significantly bolster investments into programs and close gaps for Indigenous and marginalized communities span areas including income security, child care, housing and pharmacare. 

Read the full submission here.

Nunavut Inuit Women’s Association Urges Immediate Action Following Release of Campaign 2000 Poverty Report Card

Amautiit, the Nunavut Inuit Women’s Association (NIWA), released the first Nunavut report card on child and family poverty on April 29, 2024.
Read the Report Card in English and Inuktitut; and Press Release in English and Inuktitut

From Amautiit:

On April 29, 2024, Amautiit, the Nunavut Inuit Women’s Association (NIWA) stands in solidarity with Campaign 2000 as it unveils its first ever annual Poverty Report Card, revealing the harsh realities faced by Nunavut’s most vulnerable populations. NIWA echoes the urgent call for action to address the systemic issues perpetuating poverty and inequality in our communities.

As an organization deeply rooted in advocating for the rights and well-being of Inuit women and families, NIWA recognizes the profound impact of poverty on individuals and communities across Nunavut. The findings of this year’s Poverty Report Card underscore the need for immediate and concerted efforts to combat poverty and its far-reaching consequences.

Key highlights from the report include:

Child Poverty Rates

Alarmingly high child poverty rates persist in Nunavut, with a significant percentage of our children living in conditions of economic hardship. NIWA emphasizes the importance of prioritizing the needs of our youngest community members and investing in their future through targeted interventions and support services.

Food Insecurity

Many households in Nunavut continue to grapple with food insecurity, facing barriers to accessing nutritious and culturally relevant food. NIWA stresses the importance of addressing food sovereignty and ensuring that all residents have access to healthy and affordable food options.

Impact of COVID-19

ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has further deepened the vulnerabilities faced by those living in poverty, exacerbating existing inequalities and widening socio-economic disparities. NIWA emphasizes the need for targeted support for those most affected by the pandemic, including Inuit women, children, and elders.

NIWA urges all levels of government, Indigenous leadership, and community stakeholders to heed the findings of the Poverty Report Card and to take decisive action to address poverty in Nunavut.

For more information on NIWA’s advocacy efforts and initiatives, please visit www.amautiit.ca