Report finds Nova Scotia’s child poverty rate the highest in Atlantic Canada

Child poverty in Nova Scotia is among the highest in the country, according to a new report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

The report records the highest single-year increase in child poverty in the 35 years since the federal promise to eradicate child poverty. It shows the child poverty rate in Nova Scotia increased by 16 per cent from 2021 to 2022.

That means Nova Scotia has the highest child poverty rate in Atlantic Canada and the fifth highest in the country.

“Child poverty was swiftly and dramatically reduced in 2020 because of income security benefits sufficient to bring families over the poverty line,” said Dr. Lesley Frank, the report’s co-author. “The choice to return to insufficient support by 2022 negated all progress – meaning the rise in child poverty was by design and predictable.”

The report shows 71,000 children are living food insecure in the province.

“We applaud the government for indexing income assistance rates to inflation, and we urge them to go further and raise the base rates ensuring that these families have enough income to provide for what their children need,” said Dr. Christine Saulnier, also a co-author on the report.

The report also compares specific communities using census data. It found the highest child poverty rates are in Digby at 36.1 per cent, Annapolis at 34.4 per cent, and Cape Breton at 32.4 per cent.

Shelburne, Digby and Annapolis saw the largest increase in child poverty since 2021.