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!

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!

The Alberta Child Poverty Report, takes a close look at how children and families in the province are being affected by poverty. It highlights how rising living costs, limited access to affordable housing and child care, and gaps in income supports are leaving many households struggling. The report calls on government to strengthen social programs and policies that ensure all children and families have the resources they need to thrive.

Read the full report here!

Campaign 2000’s 2025 Fall Pre-Budget Submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance urges the federal government to take immediate action to address the alarming rise in child and family poverty across Canada. With nearly 1.4 million children affected and income inequality on the rise, the submission presents clear, evidence-based recommendations to enhance income security, expand access to child care, invest in non-market housing, and implement universal pharmacare and mental health supports. These investments are essential to ensuring all children and families have the opportunity to thrive.

Click Here to Read The Full Submission

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]

Thursday (May 15) marks the 31^st annual International Day of Families (IDF) introduced by the United Nations in 1994 to raise awareness of issues and challenges facing families around the world.

Campaign 2000 is pleased to work with it host agency Family Service Toronto (FST) to recognize the importance of this day and provide context through its work on child and family poverty.

FST’s name begins with “family” and we understand it to mean: Two or more people, whether living together or apart, related by blood, marriage, adoption or commitment to care for one another.

There’s power in a commitment to care for one another. When we commit to care for one another, we create a family. We strengthen the communities in which we live. We bolster each other’s resilience. And we thrive.

It can be difficult to care for one another. It can be difficult to understand what caring for one another means in uncertain times.

It’s difficult, when we know that in 2022, 1 in 7 families with children lived in poverty.

It’s difficult, when we know that families in every province and territory lived in poverty, and the poverty they experienced was deeper than it had been since 2015.

It’s difficult, when we know nearly all children not living in a family lived, and continue to live, in poverty.

This year’s theme for International Day of Families is Family-oriented Policies for Sustainable Development: Towards the Second World Summit for Social Development 2025. With more than a hundred years of experience, FST assists individuals and families through counselling, community engagement, and public education programs. Caring for one another can mean reaching out for the kind of support FST and other community organizations provide.

We’re also committed to ongoing advocacy work through Campaign 2000, whose three-year national community-based research project produced the “Final Report – Localizing Canada’s Commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals” and brought us to a virtual Knowledge Translation Summit with other organizations working to end poverty. In July 2024, the project findings were also shared at an official side event of the United Nations High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. Caring for one another can mean raising our voices and joining the chorus.

FST envisions a city in which people are resilient and thriving in more just and supportive communities. On May 15, we remember that our commitment to care for one another makes us a family. Together, we will strengthen the communities in which we live. We will bolster each other’s resilience. And we will thrive.

It can be difficult to care for one another. It can be difficult to understand what caring for one another means in uncertain times.

It’s difficult, when we know that in 2022, 1 in 7 families with children lived in poverty.

It’s difficult, when we know that families in every province and territory lived in poverty, and the poverty they experienced was deeper than it had been since 2015.

It’s difficult, when we know nearly all children not living in a family lived, and continue to live, in poverty.
These statistics are captured in a new IDF infographic available here.

The United Nations observes May 15 as the International Day of Families. The day is meant to raise awareness of issues and challenges facing families around the world. This year’s theme for International Day of Families is Family-oriented Policies for Sustainable Development: Towards the Second World Summit for Social Development 2025.

With more than a hundred years of experience, FST assists individuals and families through counselling, community engagement, and public education programs. Caring for one another can mean reaching out for the kind of support FST and other community organizations provide.

We’re also committed to ongoing advocacy work through Campaign 2000, a cross-Canada public education movement to build Canadian awareness and support for the 1989 all-party House of Commons resolution to end child poverty in Canada by the year 2000. Campaign 2000’s three-year national community-based research project produced the “Final Report – Localizing Canada’s Commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals” and brought us to a virtual Knowledge Translation Summit with other organizations working to end poverty. In July 2024, the project findings were also shared at an official side event of the United Nations High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. Caring for one another can mean raising our voices and joining the chorus.

FST envisions a city in which people are resilient and thriving in more just and supportive communities. On May 15, we remember that our commitment to care for one another makes us a family. Together, we will strengthen the communities in which we live. We will bolster each other’s resilience. And we will thrive.

From 2021-2024, Campaign 2000: End Child and Family Poverty, Citizens for Public Justice and Canada Without Poverty co-led the national community-based research project, Localizing Canada’s Commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG): the final SDG Report is now available.

The project built on Campaign 2000’s ongoing monitoring of government progress towards ending child and family poverty, engaging communities experiencing poverty and marginalization across the country in partnership with local organizations. The team is grateful to those partners and communities who generously shared their knowledge and time throughout the project.

Among other outcomes, the findings resulted in a National Community-Based Indicator Framework for SDG 1: No Poverty, intended to supplement the Canadian Indicator Framework. This was released in March 2024 at a virtual Knowledge Translation Summit. In July 2024, the project findings were also shared at an official side event of the United Nations High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.  

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:

• For a Canada as welcoming as we are: Canadian federal party leaders must uphold the rights of refugees and migrants during the 2025 federal election campaigns. Canadian Council for Refugees, Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, and Amnesty International Canada: https://ccrweb.ca/en/open-letter-party-leaders
• Open Letter Urging Federal Action on Food Insecurity. Community Food Centres Canada: https://cfccanada.ca/CFCC/media/assets/Food-Security-Open-Letter-Lettre-ouverte-sur-l-insecurite-alimentaire.pdf
• Canadian Government Eliminates Minister for Women and Gender Equality Amid United Nations Women’s Rights Summit. Action Canada for Sexual Health & Rights: https://www.actioncanadashr.org/news/2025-03-14-canadian-government-eliminates-minister-women-and-gender-equality-amid-united-nations-womens-rights
• Joint Statement: Canada’s Children and Youth Deserve Dedicated Leadership and Protection of Their Rights. Children First Canada: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oWLxQVEFDcypg0BkTx7lu51DQLD96m3I/edit?tab=t.0
• Employment Insurance (EI) and Canada’s Response to New US Tariffs. Interprovincial EI Working Group. https://nupge.ca/2025/employment-insurance-ei-and-canadas-response-to-new-us-tariffs/

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

• Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Platform Crunch 3 (by David McDonald):https://www.policyalternatives.ca/news-research/platform-crunch-3-every-party-is-promising-tax-cuts-and-cash-transfers/
• Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition’s Questions for Candidates: https://yapc.ca/assets/documents/Actions_for_Affordability_-_Questions_for_Federal_Candidates_-_April_4%2C_2025.pdf (note: some questions are Yukon-specific, but can be adapted to any context).
• Citizens for Public Justice Election Bulletin 2025: https://cpj.ca/2025-federal-election/
• Oxfam Canada Federal Election Guide 2025: https://www.oxfam.ca/publication/oxfam-canadas-election-guide-2025/
• Amnesty International Canada Human Rights Platform for Election 2025: https://shorturl.at/D9Q78  
• Imagine Canada Party Platform Monitor: https://shorturl.at/Cxqs8
• CBC Platform Monitor: https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/features/2025/federal-party-platforms/#federal-2025-border-security

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

The National Housing Council’s review panel known as Neha, which means “our ways” in Kanien’kehà:ka-Mohawk, examines the right to safe, adequate and affordable housing of women, Two Spirit, Trans, and gender-diverse people, and the government’s duty to uphold this right.

Campaign 2000’s submission envisions safe and secure housing for women, Two Spirit, trans and gender-diverse people who are mothers, parents and primary caregivers and offers recommendations for achieving this vision.    

Read Campaign 2000’s recent written submission for the Neha review panel.

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, 8^th Floor Banquet Hall

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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