Report says N.S. has made ‘no meaningful progress’ on child poverty rates

A new study says Nova Scotia isn’t making “real progress” when it comes to ending child poverty.

According to the 2025 Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Nova Scotia from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, 22.7 percent of children in the province are living in poverty.

That is a drop of 4.6 percent from the previous year, but still represents more than 40,000 children. The research institute notes that the figures are based on the latest data available from 2023.

Nova Scotia has the highest rate of child poverty in Atlantic Canada and the third highest of all Canadian provinces.

Further data shows that more than a quarter of children aged under six lived in poverty in 2023, and nearly half of all children living in single-parent dwellings were living in poverty.

Co-author and director of the CCPA, Dr. Christine Saulnier, says low wages, inadequate income supports and unaffordable housing are the key factors for child poverty in the province.

In a statement, she says, the “government cannot claim progress while maintaining the lowest per-capita spending on social protection in Canada.”

Food insecurity among young Nova Scotians also high

Hand in hand, the rates of child food insecurity are also high in the province.

The provincial government noted that in 2022, just under half (40.1 per cent) of children in Nova Scotia were living in food-insecure households. This represents the second-highest rate in Canada.

The report, which came out in December 2024, details the staggering number of children going hungry in the province. It is more prevalent in rural communities, as one-third of postal areas reported poverty rates of 30 per cent or higher, with 66.7 per cent being the highest in North Preston.

“Higher child poverty rates in certain areas of urban Nova Scotia are
disguised,” the report reads.

As an example, it says that within Halifax rates range from 17.6 per cent (Bedford) to a high of 41.9 per cent (Spryfield) and 41 per cent downtown.

The children in most need are those of immigrants or Indigenous families who have higher rates of poverty.