In Budget 2026, Masters of our Destiny, poverty reduction appears to have fallen off the Carney government’s agenda.  This is despite the legislated commitments to reduce poverty by 50% from its 2015 level by 2030.  The National Advisory Council on Poverty warns that Canada is not on track to meet this target, confirming modelling from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives indicating that Canada will miss the 2030 target by more than 4 percentage points.

Important investments were announced in housing and childcare, some of which were reiterations of previous announcements such as the $5.4 billion to protect the future of the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care system.  Renewal of the Canada Housing Benefit and investments specifically for new supportive and transitional housing are welcomed.  But housing supply does not provide people with what they need to maintain a home, afford food or transportation or other necessities.  Similarly, access to $10-a-day childcare reduces one major expense for those who were paying high fees but does not ensure that parents have enough income or opportunity to support their children outside of care.

Income support is required to fill this gap and is a critical component of a poverty reduction plan.  But there are major issues with the income security programs, which are not organized as a coherent system.  Campaign 2000’s last two report cards have found that the Canada Child Benefit is losing its effectiveness and is no longer adequate to further reduce child poverty.  892,000 children live in poverty according to the official poverty line.  We have proposed an End Child Poverty Supplement of up to $8,500 for the first child in families with very low incomes and scaled reductions for each additional child, modelled to cut child poverty in half immediately.

Budget 2026 does not introduce that supplement.  Instead, for the same cost, it introduces the Productivity Mega Deduction, which lowers the marginal effective tax rate on new business investments.  This choice illustrates the government’s willingness to make large investments into corporate competitiveness while leaving the CCB without the enhancements needed to reduce child and family poverty.

Income supports for other groups are also inadequate: 1.5 million people with disabilities live in poverty, 1.1 million seniors and 3 million working aged adults live in poverty.  Income supports for people with disabilities do not take into consideration the additional costs of living with a disability, while the federal government’s own recommendation to double the Child Disability Benefit was not included.  Rather, the federal government is constraining itself by classifying income support as program expenditures, which are required to be reduced, rather than investments into health, well-being and building strong communities.

In this context, the budget makes modest enhancements to three income support programs.  These include a one-time 50% increase for the 2026-27 benefit year of the Groceries and Essentials Benefit, decreasing the earned income eligibility threshold for the Canada Workers’ Benefit and increasing the maximum benefit, and making the Caregivers’ Tax Credit refundable which ensures the lowest income earners benefit. 

The Budget estimates the poverty reduction effects separately for each program.  Assuming the numbers they present do not double or triple count the number of people lifted out by these programs, only 375,000 people will be moved out of poverty by these measures.   This accounts for 8.4% of the 4,477,500 people who live in poverty in Canada. Some people will likely fall back into poverty when the increase in the Groceries and Essentials Benefit is withdrawn

The affordability measures in this budget will provide some relief, but they are modest relative to the scale of poverty.  They do not amount to a credible plan for meeting Canada’s legislated poverty reduction targets.  In order for children, families and people living in poverty to truly become masters of their own destiny, more sustained and robust investment in income security and public services are required.

October 17^th is the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. To raise awareness of Canada’s commitments to poverty eradication, equity and human rights, Campaign 2000, in collaboration with Oxfam Canada and the Canadian Network for Equity and Racial Justice (CNERJ), has written a joint letter to the Prime Minister and Minister Hadju. 

The letter addresses the commitments that Canada has made to reduce, and ultimately eliminate, poverty. Outlining recent endorsements such as the Doha Political Declaration at the Second World Summit for Social Development in November of 2025.

Furthermore, the letter addresses the progress towards the goal of poverty elimination. While there was some progress, the poverty rate is on the rise again. Today more than 1 in 10 Canadians (11%) live in poverty. Marginalized groups had disproportionately higher poverty rates: 17.9% of Indigenous People and 15.5% of racialized people. The poverty rate for children has also more than doubled, now at 11.5%. Almost 1 in 3 children that grew up in a lone-parent family where the parent was a woman or gender diverse person lived in poverty.

While Canada is on the right track with the investment’s the government has made, the erosion of progress highlights that not enough is being done. Together with Oxfam Canada and CNERJ, Campaign 2000 has provided three recommendations:

1. Strengthen income security by ensuring federal benefits and income supports are adequate, accessible, and sufficient to meet basic needs, so that no one in Canada is left living in poverty.
2. Address systemic barriers to economic security by strengthening employment equity, ensuring decent work and fair wages, and tackling racial, gender and other inequalities that disproportionately expose marginalized communities to poverty.
3. Make essential needs and services affordable for everyone by investing in affordable housing, public health care, child care and other essential public services funded by a fairer tax system that reduces inequality.

To read the letter, please click here.

Canada does not have a National Strategy for Children and Youth. Bill S-212, An Act Respecting a National Strategy for Children and Youth in Canada, presents an important opportunity that targets to protect our children and youth. Importantly, this Bill would finish the job of ending child poverty once and for all.

Campaign 2000 has penned an open letter calling for the passage of Bill S-212, with 77 organizations endorsing the letter from across Canada urging the government to act swiftly.

The Bill was scheduled for second reading in the House of Commons on September 25, 2026. Unfortunately, the sponsoring parliamentarian was absent, resulting in the bill being dropped to the bottom of the Order Paper and indefinitely delaying the reading.

Children cannot afford further delays. We have already missed opportunities to support an entire generation, and with nearly 1 in 5 children living in poverty, the need for action has never been more urgent.

Read the open letter in English here.

Lisez la lettre ouverte en français ici.

Join the call by endorsing the letter here.

For Immediate Release July 21, 2026

TORONTO – Campaign 2000 welcomes the annual inflation adjustment to the Canada Child Benefit (CCB), announced by the federal government for the 2026–27 benefit year. Beginning this month, eligible families can receive up to $8,157 per child under age six and up to $6,883 per child aged six to 17, an increase of up to $160 and $135 per child, respectively, over last year’s maximum amounts.

Indexing the CCB to inflation is essential. It helps ensure that the benefit does not lose value as families face the rising  costs of groceries, rent, clothing, child care and other necessities. But today’s announcement maintains the status quo; it does not provide the scale of new investment needed to reverse the rise in child poverty or reach children and families living in the deepest poverty.

Campaign 2000’s 2025 Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Canada shows that child poverty rose for the third  consecutive year. Using Canada’s official poverty line, 802,000 children (10.7%) live in poverty. Using a broader income measure with tax filing data, nearly 1.4 million children are living in poverty. Families with children in poverty are, on  average, more than $15,000 below the poverty line.

The report also finds that the CCB remains a critical poverty-reduction tool, and prevented more than 580,000 children  from falling into poverty in 2023. However, its impact has weakened over time as inflation, high housing costs, food insecurity and inadequate income supports push families further behind.

 “The Canada Child Benefit matters, and indexing it to inflation is necessary,” said Leila Sarangi, National Director of  Campaign 2000: End Child and Family Poverty. “But a modest annual adjustment will not reach families who are  thousands of dollars below the poverty line. Child poverty has more than doubled since 2020 on Canada’s official measure, and too many children are being left in deep poverty. The federal government must strengthen the CCB with a  targeted End Child Poverty Supplement so the children facing the greatest barriers get the income support they need now.”

Children and families experiencing the highest rates of poverty include lone-parent families, particularly those led by women; families that include people with disabilities; First Nations, Inuit and Métis children; racialized children; newcomer children; children in care; and families facing barriers to decent work, affordable housing and public services. These inequities are not inevitable; they are the result of policy choices and can be changed through sustained public investment. 

Campaign 2000 is calling on the federal government to restore and strengthen the poverty-reduction power of the CCB by introducing an End Child Poverty Supplement targeted to families in deep poverty. This supplement would build on the existing CCB platform and direct additional income support to the children and families who need it most.

“Canada has the tools to end child poverty,” added Sarangi. “The evidence is clear: income transfers work when they are  adequate, accessible and designed to reach those most excluded. Indexation protects the benefit from erosion, but  ending child poverty requires a bolder commitment.”

Read Press Release & 2025 National Report Card

---

Media contact:
Leila Sarangi, National Director of Campaign 2000: End Child and Family Poverty
Email: [email protected]
Phone Number : 647.393.1097

---

Maytree released a report titled,” Let it be over – It’s time to wind down the collection of pandemic benefits from Canada’s poorest and most marginalized residents” written by John Stapleton and MacGregor Goodman.

What the report shows

The report shows that Canada stands out internationally. Unlike the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, Canada continues to pursue repayment from the poorest recipients instead of drawing a line under pandemic-era overpayments. It also shows that

the current system is especially harsh for people who were already poor, including social assistance recipients, people in precarious work, and people in the cash economy.

A system that compounds harm

For many people, CERB and CRB were clawed back by provincial social assistance, only for the federal government to come after the same dollars again. Others have faced rigid evidence standards, repeated reassessments, and no meaningful discretion to settle based on hardship or partial repayment. The result is a recovery regime that is costly to administer, difficult to navigate, and deeply unfair.

What should happen next

Canada should stop treating poverty and confusion as if they were fraud.

The report calls for a structured wind-down of CERB and CRB collections. That includes forgiveness for low-income people, proportional settlements where some repayment is possible, reconciliation of provincial clawbacks, and a fixed end date for routine recovery efforts.

Canada acted quickly in an emergency. It should now act with equal clarity to end a recovery process that is prolonging harm for the people least able to bear it.

An overview of the research, community stories, government advocacy, and policy recommendations related to pandemic benefit repayments. This page features external news articles and blogs authored by Campaign 2000 and its community partners on the issue of pandemic benefit repayments. The stories and articles are presented in reverse chronological order, from current work (2026) to earlier work (2020-2023)

| 2026 | 2023 | 2022 | 2020 |

2026 Media Highlights

---

2023 Media Highlights

---

2022 Media Highlights

---

2020 Media Highlights

---

For some people, the CERB lifeline has become an anchor

The Hamilton Spectator & The Hill Times released a new article written by Amanda Therrien, senior staff lawyer at the National Association of Women and the Law, and Leila Sarangi, national director for Campaign 2000: End Child and Family Poverty. The Article titled “For some people, the CERB lifeline has become an anchor” discusses the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) Clawbacks impacting vulnerable Canadians, particularly low-income, racialized, refugee, and young populations. CERB was enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused economic shutdowns, providing financial support during a time of need.

The CERB provided economic relief to low-income Canadians, greatly decreasing poverty rates in Canada during the first year of the pandemic. Despite that, the Canadian Government halted the emergency relief program, resulting in poverty rates returning to previous conditions. The economic implications of the pandemic remain a contemporary issue, as the aftermath, in combination with political instability and tariffs produces economic insecurity.

Despite the weakened economic condition, the Canadian government has diverted significant time and resources to obtain overpayments of CERB. The government has provided $123 million to Employment and Social Development Canada and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) with the main goal of obtaining clawbacks. The justifications behind these measures are framed as a needed and justified use of public funds. However, instead of strengthening social safety nets that reduce vulnerability and marginalization, funds are allocated to relentless pursue low-income Canadians.

CERB Clawbacks disadvantage low-income Canadian as acknowledged by the Canadian government. Despite the government highlighting various actions to soften the blow, such as repayment plans, these approaches are sometimes followed by other aggressive approaches like garnished wages.

Unfortunately, although repayments of emergency benefits are limited to a six-year period; there are exemptions to this legislation that can extend for several more years. There is a vital need for policy reform to prevent further debt collection that is deepening an already precarious group.

There is a striking distinction in the treatment of the wealthiest Canadians and the Poor. While the Canadian government squeezes the few resources of the less privileged to obtain back CERB overpayments, which will not make a significant impact on the economy, the rich are exempt from repayment. Affluent asset-owning individuals are absolved of tax obligations under the pretext of hardship. The Canadian government should not impose a financial burden on economically disadvantaged Canadians while waving the debts of the rich. The poorest Canadians should not be required to repay debts that will diminish savings, produce debt, and affect their ability to pay for necessities. Instead, the mandatory repayments of CERB must END, similar to how the luxury tax was abolished for the Upper class.

Read The Full Article Here: For some people, the CERB lifeline has become an anchor

Key Findings

1. Child and family poverty is worsening, rising for the third consecutive year In 2023, one in four (25.7%) children aged 0–17 in Toronto experienced poverty.
2. Toronto continues to hold the troubling distinction of being the child poverty capital among Canada’s largest municipalities
3. Half of all children in one-parent households live in poverty, and almost all children not in census families live in poverty
4. Families are falling further below the poverty line, struggling to make ends meet
5. Child poverty affects families in every ward, while concentrated pockets of poverty persist across the city
6. Child poverty continues to disproportionately affect Indigenous, racialized, immigrant and newcomer children, as well as children living in households without permanent resident status

Next Steps: Take Action!

Addressing child and family poverty will require leadership and coordinated action from each level of government. This report outlines detailed recommendations for the federal, provincial, and municipal governments. With a systems-level and root-cause framing, these recommendations focus on three approaches to addressing child and family poverty:

• ensure livable incomes and inclusive economic development practices;
• implement a rights-based approach to basic needs and affordability; and
• renew the focus on poverty reduction and systemic inequality.

There is also a role for every Torontonian to play. As the municipal election gears up and residents prepare to vote on October 26, they can ask candidates: “What will you do to reduce child and family poverty in our city—and how will you make sure it actually happens?” 

Read The Full Report Here

Hamilton’s first Child and Family Report Card has been released! Using taxfiler data, this new report explores family and child poverty, finding that Hamilton’s child poverty rate of 21.1% in 2023 is higher than both the Canadian(18.3%) and Ontario (19.9%) rates. That means that one in five children in Hamilton are living in poverty. This is over 24,000 children in Hamilton. Read the full report here!

A Community Conversation was held on June 9, 2026 to discuss the Family and Child Poverty in Hamilton Report. Ted Hildebrandt (Senior Social Planner) presented key findings from the report. He was joined by Leila Sarangi (National Director, Campaign 2000: End Child & Family Poverty), who presented on the 2025 Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Canada. This was followed by a discussion on understanding the findings, exploring impacts on children and families, and identifying solutions. Watch Here!

Campaign 2000’s 2026 Pre-Budget Submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance calls on the federal government to take immediate action to reduce rising child poverty in Canada. Nearly 1.4 million children are living in poverty, 2.5 million children live in food-insecure households, and families are falling an average of more than $15,000 below the low-income threshold.

The submission outlines clear, evidence-based recommendations to strengthen the Canada Child Benefit through a new End Child Poverty Supplement of up to $8,500 for the first child in low-income families. It also calls for expanded access to the benefit for families facing barriers and stronger income supports for those experiencing the deepest poverty. These investments are essential to ensuring every child and family in Canada has the resources they need to thrive.

Read the full submission here!