Long Overdue: Why BC Needs a Poverty Reduction Plan

British Columbia is the only province or territory in Canada that stubbornly refuses to develop a poverty reduction plan. This is not because BC doesn’t have a poverty problem. In fact, despite being one of Canada’s wealthiest provinces, BC has among the highest poverty rates in the country—13.2 per cent according to the Market Basket Measure (MBM), which we believe most accurately estimates current poverty. This makes BC’s poverty rate the second highest in Canada. This report examines the most recent statistics on poverty and its associated hardships in BC. In so doing, it makes clear that strong policies are urgently needed to dramatically reduce and ultimately eliminate poverty in our province. A comprehensive and ambitious poverty reduction plan for BC is long overdue.

Publication Date: 
2017
Location: 
British Columbia, Canada