Canada Housing Market

Canada’s cost-of-living crisis is still showing up in the data.

New Statistics Canada numbers show that 11.0% of Canadians lived below the poverty line in 2024, representing approximately 4.5 million people. That is almost unchanged from 2023, when the poverty rate was 11.1%. 

The data suggests that while inflation has cooled from its peak, many households are still struggling to keep up with the cost of basic living.

Poverty Is Still Well Above 2020 Levels

Canada’s poverty rate remains much higher than it was during the early pandemic years.

Statistics Canada’s updated data shows the poverty rate was 11.0% in 2024, compared with 7.0% in 2020. That means the share of Canadians living below the official poverty line has climbed sharply over the last four years. 

This matters because Canada’s Official Poverty Line is based on the Market Basket Measure, which estimates whether a household can afford a modest basic standard of living. That basket includes essentials like food, shelter, clothing, transportation, communication services, and other basic expenses. 

Median Income Is Not Moving Much

One reason households may still be feeling squeezed is that income growth has been limited.

Statistics Canada reported that the median after-tax income for Canadian families and unattached individuals was $75,500 in 2024. After adjusting for inflation, that was relatively unchanged from 2023. 

In simple terms, many households are not seeing enough real income growth to feel meaningful relief.

Even if prices are no longer rising as fast as they were in 2022 or 2023, the total cost of living is still much higher than it was before the pandemic.

Some Regions Are Being Hit Harder

Poverty rates also vary widely across Canada.

Nunavut had the highest poverty rate in the country in 2024 at 31.7%. Among the provinces, British Columbia had the highest poverty rate at 13.0%, followed by Ontario at 12.5%. Quebec had the lowest poverty rate at 7.0%. 

Statistics Canada noted that poverty rates in the territories tend to be among the highest in the country, partly reflecting the higher cost of living in the North. 

Food Insecurity Is Still A Major Issue

The income data also shows that food insecurity remains elevated.

In 2024, about 9.8 million people, or 24.0% of Canadians, lived in households that reported some level of food insecurity. That was down slightly from 2023, but still means roughly 1 in 4 people were affected. 

Food insecurity was especially high for one-parent families. Statistics Canada reported that 44.4% of people in one-parent families lived in food-insecure households in 2024. 

What This Signals For Canada

The latest numbers show that Canada’s affordability problem is not just about home prices.

It is also about income, rent, food, transportation, and the rising cost of basic needs.

Even with inflation lower than its peak, millions of Canadians are still below the poverty line, and many more are dealing with food insecurity.

For the housing market, this matters because affordability is tied directly to household income. If incomes are not keeping up with basic costs, it becomes even harder for renters to save, buyers to qualify, and households to absorb higher mortgage or rent payments.

Canada’s cost-of-living crisis may be cooling on paper, but for many households, the pressure is still very real.

References

Statistics Canada. (2026, April 29). Canadian Income Survey, 2024. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/260429/dq260429a-eng.htm

Statistics Canada. (2026). Dimensions of Poverty Hub. https://www.statcan.gc.ca/en/topics-start/poverty

Maytree. (2026). Stubbornly high: Canada’s poverty reduction efforts have stalled.https://maytree.com/publications/stubbornly-high-canadas-poverty-reduction-efforts-have-stalled/