Food Banks Canada’s latest poverty report card found that 28 per cent of people in Canada experienced a poverty-level standard of living, according to the material deprivation index (MDI) for 2026, far exceeding the official poverty rate of 11 per cent as calculated by Statistics Canada’s market basket measure (MBM).

Food Banks Canada uses both the MBM and MDI in its annual poverty report card to assess national progress in addressing poverty and food insecurity. This year’s version graded the federal government D , in large part due to historically high levels of food insecurity and rising unemployment, despite some important legislative progress including the launch of the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit and investments in affordable housing.

The 2025 MDI similarly found 28 per cent of people in Canada experienced a poverty-level standard of living and the Food Banks report card gave Ottawa a grade of D last year. This suggests that despite some minor shifts, there has been no reduction in poverty between 2025 and 2026.

Official income poverty statistics measure whether a household’s income falls below a certain level whereas the MDI tracks the number of Canadians who cannot afford two or more items on an 11-item scale.

As we argued in both 2024 and 2025, using the MBM and MDI together provides a stronger foundation for measuring the overall extent and impact of poverty in Canada.

Food insecurity increasing

Statistics Canada says almost 10 million people or 24 per cent of Canadians, lived in households that reported some form of food insecurity in 2025. That’s an increase of almost four million in just six years. Food bank use has risen in step, while official poverty rates have changed much more slowly. Statistics Canada says only 4.5 million people live below the official poverty line.

While food insecurity provides crucial insight into the financial hardship being experienced by some parts of the population, it captures only one dimension of material deprivation and thus only one part of a modest, basic living standard.

Similarly, while food bank use is not in itself a measure of poverty, it provides a real-time snapshot of financial........

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