Poverty: Rising and Deepening
February 25, 2026
Child poverty has risen for the third consecutive year, with nearly 30,000 additional children falling into poverty according to the 2025 Report Card on Child and Family Poverty from Campaign 2000, a non-partisan coalition of 120 groups and individuals co-ordinated by Family Service Toronto.
Today, 802,000 children (10.7%) live in poverty using Canada’s official measure, and nearly 1.4 million children live in poverty using a broader income measure. At the current pace, it would take almost 400 years to end child poverty in Canada.
“The numbers may not have risen as sharply as in the previous two years, but the trend is unmistakably moving in the wrong direction,” said Leila Sarangi, National Director of Campaign 2000 and lead author of the report. “More children are in poverty and families are falling further behind. That means less income for basic needs and less stability for families. In an affordability crisis, that is unacceptable.”
As housing and food costs increase, families are falling further behind. On average, families with children are living more than $15,000 below the poverty line, and 1.2 million adults are working but are still unable to meet basic needs.
Government supports remain critical but are no longer keeping pace with the cost of living. The Canada Child Benefit prevented more than 580,000 children from falling into poverty in 2023, yet its impact has weakened over time. Food insecurity is also worsening, with 2.5 million children living in food-insecure households across the provinces and severe food insecurity doubling since 2019.
This year it will be 37 years since the federal government promised to uphold children’s rights by ratifying the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and passing a unanimous resolution in the House of Commons to end child poverty by the year 2000.
For more information:
National Report Card in English
Press Release English
Infographic English
National Report Card in French
Press Release French
Infographic French