Canada has only had an official poverty line since 2018, when the federal government adopted the Market Basket Measure (MBM) as its yardstick in its first poverty reduction strategy. Before that, researchers and advocates relied on several competing measures, and none of them was formally designated as “the” poverty line.
The MBM works by pricing a basic basket of goods and services in each region of the country and then asking whether a family’s disposable income is enough to buy it.
This guide explains what the poverty line is, how Statistics Canada calculates it, what the thresholds look like for different household sizes and cities, how it compares to the Low Income Measure and the LICO, and what the latest figures say about how many Canadians are living below it.
Quick Take
- Canada’s official poverty line is the Market Basket Measure (MBM), which prices a modest basket of food, clothing and footwear, shelter, transportation, communication services and other necessities for a family of four
- There is no single national threshold: the MBM varies by region and by family size, with 52 regions in the provinces and 13 in the territories
- A person is below the line when their family’s disposable income, meaning income after taxes and certain non-discretionary costs, falls short of the threshold for their family size and region
- Lines for other family sizes are scaled by the square root of family size, so a single person’s line is exactly half of the family-of-four figure
- In 2024, 11.0% of Canadians, about 4.5 million people, were below the poverty line, and provisional estimates put 2025 at 11.2%, about 4.6 million people
- The federal government’s targets are to cut poverty by 20% by 2020 and by 50% by 2030, compared with 2015 levels
Canada’s first national poverty reduction strategy, Opportunity for All, introduced the country’s first official poverty measure in 2018. It is based on the cost of a basket of goods and services that people need to meet their basic needs and achieve a modest standard of living. Statistics Canada, working with Employment and Social Development Canada, produces the thresholds and the annual poverty rate.
The key idea is that the line is absolute rather than relative. It does not depend on what the average Canadian earns. It depends on what a specific basket of necessities costs where you live. If rent in your city goes up faster than wages, the threshold goes up with it.
How the Market Basket Measure Is Calculated
The MBM follows four steps.
1. Define a reference family. Thresholds are set for a family of two adults and two children. Every other family size is derived from this reference family.
2. Price the basket in each region. The basket has these components:
| Component | What it covers |
| Food | Health Canada’s National Nutritious Food Basket (2019 version), plus a 5% allowance for items like coffee, tea and spices |
| Clothing and footwear | A basic wardrobe, based on a 2012 Winnipeg “Acceptable Living Level” basket, with set quantities and replacement schedules |
| Shelter | The cost of a modest three-bedroom, non-subsidized rental that is adequate and suitable for the family, including utilities |
| Transportation | Private transportation costs, plus public transit and taxi or ride-share costs |
| Communication services | Landline, cell phone and internet, costed to the CRTC’s minimum service standard (new in the 2023-base version) |
| Other expenses | A multiplier that covers other necessities such as personal care, furniture, school supplies and recreation |
Expenditures in the basket reflect the spending of families in the second income decile, and the document that defines the measure says it is “not intended to be a prescriptive and inflexible basket of goods and services.”
3. Set 52 provincial regions and 13 territorial regions. Costs differ widely, so the thresholds differ by community size and location. The provinces were divided into 53 regions under the previous version of the MBM, and the revised version has 52 because no region matched one former Newfoundland and Labrador category. The territories count stays at 13.
4. Compare to disposable income. A family is in poverty if its disposable income is below the threshold for its size and region. Disposable income is total income, including government transfers, minus income tax and non-discretionary expenses such as CPP or QPP and EI contributions, union dues, child care costs, support payments and medical expenses. There are also adjustments for homeowners and subsidized renters.
Scaling for family size
The threshold for other household sizes is the reference family threshold multiplied by the square root of the family size, divided by two. That means a single person’s line is half the family-of-four figure, and a couple’s line is about 71% of it.
The Poverty Line in Dollars: Examples From 2025
Statistics Canada publishes the official thresholds in a table by region.
The figures below are drawn from a WealthNorth summary of the 2025 MBM thresholds and are rounded, with the other household sizes calculated using the square-root formula. Treat them as estimates and check the Statistics Canada table (11-10-0066-01) for exact values.
| Region | Single person | Couple (or one parent, one child) | Family of 3 | Family of 4 |
| Quebec, lowest-cost region (30,000 to 99,999 people) | About $23,426 | About $33,129 | About $40,575 | $46,852 |
| Calgary | About $29,576 | About $41,827 | About $51,228 | $59,153 |
| Toronto | $31,440 | About $44,463 | About $54,456 | $62,880 |
| Vancouver | About $32,176 | About $45,503 | About $55,730 | $64,351 |
The range is wide. Vancouver has the highest of the provincial thresholds in the source, while the territories are higher still: the same summary lists a family-of-four threshold of $67,951 for Whitehorse, $76,287 for Yellowknife and $117,179 for Iqaluit.
As a cross-check, the Government of Yukon published a 2024 family-of-four threshold of $65,929 for Whitehorse using the 2023-base measure, which is consistent with a small increase into 2025.
The 2023-Base Update
Statistics Canada completed its third comprehensive review of the MBM in late 2025 and moved to a 2023 base year. The main changes:
- Census inputs for shelter were updated from the 2016 Census to the 2021 Census
- Food prices now use scanner data from 21 grocery chains instead of proxy municipalities
- Clothing price collection expanded from 11 to 22 cities
- A communication services component was added
- The “other expenses” multiplier was revised from 75.4% to 50.3%, using updated spending data
The effect was to raise measured poverty a bit. For 2023, the poverty rate under the new method is 10.9%, compared with 10.2% under the old one, which is about 0.7 percentage points or roughly 269,000 more people.
For 2020, the figures are 6.8% under the new method and 6.4% under the old one. Thresholds rose by about 2.0% on average across Canada, with some Atlantic, Alberta, Northwest Territories and Nunavut regions seeing small decreases or no change.
How Many Canadians Are Below the Poverty Line?
| Measure | 2024 (official) | 2025 (provisional) |
| National poverty rate | 11.0% | 11.2% |
| People in poverty | About 4.5 million | About 4.6 million |
| Children (under 18) | 11.5% | 11.4% |
| Adults 18 to 64 | 12.6% | 12.4% |
| Seniors (65+) | 5.4% | 7.0% |
| Unattached individuals | n/a | 26.2% |
Two cautions apply. First, the 2025 numbers, released on November 4, 2026, are provisional and cover the provinces only, and the official 2025 figures are scheduled for spring 2027. Second, the 2024 figures include the territories and the 2025 provisional ones do not, so the one-year change is not a perfect comparison.
Some groups face far higher rates.
In 2024, poverty was 18.1% among Indigenous people aged 15 and over, 15.5% among racialized people and 12.6% among people with disabilities.
By region, Nunavut had the highest rate at 31.7%, followed by British Columbia at 13.0% and Ontario at 12.5%, while Quebec had the lowest of those reported at 7.0%.
Other Low-Income Measures: LIM and LICO
The MBM is the official line, but two other measures still appear in news stories and research.
| Measure | How it works | 2024 example (one person) |
| Market Basket Measure (MBM) | Prices a basket of necessities by region | About $23,000 to $32,000 depending on region (2025) |
| Low Income Measure (LIM) | Half of median adjusted household income; does not vary by region | $31,317 after tax |
| Low-Income Cut-offs (LICO) | Based on the share of income spent on necessities in 1992; varies by community size | $25,909 after tax in a city of 500,000 or more |
The LIM is a relative measure, so it rises whenever median incomes rise. For household sizes of two, three and four, the after-tax LIM thresholds in 2024 were $44,289, $54,243 and $62,634.
The LICO is older and is based on a 1992 spending pattern. Because the measures work differently, a household can be below one line and above another, so always check which measure a statistic uses.
Poverty Reduction Targets
Under Opportunity for All, the federal government set targets to reduce poverty by 20% by 2020 and by 50% by 2030, both measured against 2015 levels, when roughly one in eight Canadians lived in poverty.
To track progress across changes in the method, Statistics Canada recommends the MBM Poverty Index, which measures change from a 2015 baseline.
What the Poverty Line Does and Does Not Tell You
- It measures income, not wealth. The MBM compares your disposable income to a threshold. It does not look at savings, home equity or debt.
- It is regional but not personal. The basket assumes a standard family and a standard rental. It can understate costs for people with disabilities, high medical costs or no access to a car or transit.
- It is a floor, not a comfortable income. The basket is designed for a modest, basic standard of living, which is why many households just above the line still struggle.
- It shifts as methods are revised. The 2023-base revision changed the poverty rate by about 0.7 points for 2023, so comparing numbers across methods can mislead.
Final Thoughts
Canada’s poverty line is the Market Basket Measure, a regional price tag on a basic basket of necessities, compared against what a family has left after taxes and non-discretionary costs.
For a single person in 2025, that comes to roughly $23,000 in the lowest-cost parts of Quebec and over $32,000 in Vancouver, and it rises with family size by the square root of the number of people. About 11% of Canadians are below it, which is the story the government’s 2030 target is trying to change.
FAQs
What is the poverty line in Canada for a single person?
It depends on where you live. Using the 2025 thresholds, a single person’s line ranges from about $23,400 in the lowest-cost Quebec region to about $31,400 in Toronto and $32,200 in Vancouver. The figure is half of the regional family-of-four threshold.
What is the poverty line for a family of four?
It ranges from about $46,852 in the lowest-cost Quebec region to $62,880 in Toronto and $64,351 in Vancouver, using 2025 figures. Northern territories are higher, from $67,951 in Whitehorse to $117,179 in Iqaluit.
Is the poverty line before or after tax?
After tax. The MBM compares the threshold to disposable income, which is total income including government transfers, minus income taxes and non-discretionary expenses like CPP and EI contributions, child care, support payments and medical expenses.
What is the difference between the MBM and the LIM?
The MBM is an absolute measure that prices a specific basket in each region. The LIM is relative, set at half of median household income, and it does not vary by region. In 2024, the after-tax LIM for one person was $31,317.
How many Canadians live in poverty?
According to the Canadian Income Survey, 11.0% of Canadians, about 4.5 million people, were below the poverty line in 2024. Provisional estimates released on November 4, 2026 put the 2025 rate at 11.2%, about 4.6 million people, in the provinces.
Who is most likely to be in poverty?
Unattached individuals have the highest rate in the provisional 2025 data at 26.2%. In 2024, poverty was also higher among Indigenous people, racialized people and people with disabilities, and in Nunavut, British Columbia and Ontario.
Does the poverty line change every year?
Yes. Thresholds are updated annually using Consumer Price Index components for shelter, food, clothing, transportation and other expenses, and the basket itself is reviewed through periodic comprehensive reviews, the latest of which moved the base year to 2023.
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