Newly elected Liberal leader Mark Carney isn't wasting time when it comes to spreading misinformation.
In his victory speech on Sunday, he praised outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, saying, "You have transformed it. You have lifted hundreds of thousands of kids out of poverty by moving reconciliation forward and by defending freedom and democracy here and across the world."
But food bank use in Canada has reached unprecedented levels, reflecting the affordability crisis and growing financial hardship. In March 2024, Food Banks Canada reported a record-breaking 2,059,636 visits nationwide, a 6% increase from March 2023 and a staggering 90% surge compared to March 2019.
This marks the highest use in the organization’s history, with food banks struggling to meet demand —nearly 30% reported running out of food in 2024.
Poverty and financial hardship in Canada have risen since the end of pandemic-era supports in 2020, driven by inflation, rising costs of living — especially housing, food, and transportation — and stagnant or inadequate income supports.
While poverty rates dropped to historic lows in 2020 — 6.4% — due to emergency benefits like the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), they’ve since rebounded, with estimates showing a rise to 9.9% in 2022 and provisional models predicting further increases to 10.2% in 2023.
Beyond income poverty, indicators like food insecurity, unmet housing needs, and financial stress among vulnerable groups — single parents, recent immigrants, and people with disabilities — reveal a worsening crisis.
The idea of Trudeau lifting hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty is connected to the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) — a key Liberal policy.
Government data and Liberal messaging often cite the CCB reduced child poverty by roughly 300,000 to 400,000 children between 2015 and 2019, per Statistics Canada’s Low Income Measure.
This has been a frequent talking point—for example, Trudeau said in a 2019 campaign speech, “We’ve lifted over 300,000 children out of poverty with the Canada Child Benefit.”
Canada’s GDP per capita is declining relative to the poorest U.S. states.
As of 2023, Canada’s GDP per capita was around $54,966 USD — based on Statistics Canada and World Bank data, adjusted for current trends — down from higher historical levels due to slow economic growth and rapid population increases.
In contrast, the poorest U.S. states by GDP per capita, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis — 2023 data, released late 2024 — are Mississippi $47,190 USD, New Mexico $54,687 USD, West Virginia $55,106 USD), Arkansas $55,747 USD, and Alabama $56,592 USD.
