New Brunswick’s 2024 Child & Family Poverty Report Card

November 20, 2024

Report Highlights

• 2022 tax filer data reveals that roughly 1 in 5 Canadian children lived in poverty.
• The child poverty rate in Canada increased from 15.6% in 2021 to 18.1% in 2022.
• New Brunswick had the country’s sixth-highest child poverty rate (fourth if only considering the provinces and not the territories).
• The number of children living in poverty in New Brunswick rose from 26,360 (18.7%) in 2021 to 31,430 (21.9%) in 2022.
• Child poverty rates in New Brunswick are unevenly distributed across its eight cities, from highs above 29% in Campbellton, Saint
• John, and Bathurst, to a low of 14.4% in Dieppe.
• The highest decile of New Brunswick families with children held 25.7% of total income, while the lowest decile held 1.6%.
• Nearly 1 in 4 children under age 6 (24.44%) are living in poverty in New Brunswick.
• 47.9% of children in one-parent families lived in poverty, compared to 11.2% of children in couple families.
• Government transfers reduced New Brunswick’s child poverty rate from 38.8% to 21.9%.
• The Canada Child Benefit lifted 14,580 children out of poverty.

Introduction

It has been 35 years since the Canadian House of Commons unanimously resolved to eliminate child poverty by the year 2000.[1] This commitment remains unfulfilled, with detrimental effects on children and families living in poverty. In a nation rich in resources and opportunities, the persistence of child poverty in Canada is a policy problem that requires renewed dedication and urgent collective action.

The Human Development Council is a member of Campaign 2000, a cross-Canada coalition working to end child and family poverty. Campaign 2000 coordinates the annual release of national and subnational report cards tracking poverty reduction trends, like this one for New Brunswick. Child and Family Poverty Report Cards are a stark reminder of the government’s failure to achieve the target it set in 1989. Considerable work is required to lift children and families out of poverty and create a society where every child can thrive.

For many years, poverty reduction progress in New Brunswick was slow or altogether stalled. The child poverty rate dropped in 2020 with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and its income support programs. The pandemic presented an opportunity to demonstrate how investment in income support programs can effectively lift people out of poverty by increasing their financial security, socioeconomic well-being, and quality of life. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 government transfers were discontinued by 2021. Child poverty rates have since seen sharp annual increases due to high and sustained price inflation. Low-income families struggle to meet their basic needs because employment earnings and government transfers are not keeping pace with the cost of living.

Affordability is a pressing concern for households in New Brunswick, especially those living below the poverty line. Many individuals and families are struggling to access essential resources like housing and food due to insufficient disposable income. This often forces them to make tough financial choices, prioritizing certain expenses over others. The United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child states that an adequate standard of living—with access to shelter and good nutrition—is not just an ideal, but a fundamental human right.[2] With record-breaking child poverty rates, it is clear that social policies are failing those in greatest need of support.[3]

Poverty is the condition of a person who lacks the resources, means, opportunities, and power necessary to acquire and maintain economic self-sufficiency or to integrate into and participate in society.[4]

A Note on Poverty Data & Measurement

The Market Basket Measure (MBM) and the LowIncome Measure (LIM) are two poverty measurement tools used in Canada.

The federal government recognizes the MBM as Canada’s official poverty line.[5] The MBM is a consumption-based, absolute measure of poverty. It is based on a basket of goods that reflects the income a family requires to afford basic needs, such as food, shelter, and clothing. Its data is obtained from the Canadian Income Survey. The data from the Canadian Income Survey comes from a limited sample of the New Brunswick population. Therefore, the data is not reliable for small geographies.

The Campaign 2000 coalition uses the LIM as the primary poverty measure in annual child poverty reporting for Canada and its provinces and territories. The LIM is a relative measure of poverty. It defines poverty as below the median (50%) income of all tax filers, adjusted for family size. One data source for the LIM is tax filer data from the T1 Family File (T1FF). Tax filer data paints a more reliable picture of Canadian realities than income survey data.

This report card primarily uses statistics from the 2022 T1FF’s Census Family Low Income Measure, After Tax (CFLIM-AT). This is the most recent tax filer data available. Disaggregated demographic data, like child poverty for Indigenous and racialized children, is sourced from the national Census, administered once every 5 years.

According to the MBM, 11.3% (16,000) of children lived in poverty in New Brunswick in 2022. The CFLIM-AT reported 21.9% (31,430) of children living in poverty that same year. The MBM reported 15,430 less children living in poverty than the CFLIMAT. Such an underestimation means that many children and families experiencing poverty are falling through the cracks instead of receiving adequate socioeconomic support to help them out of hardship.

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