Question Period Note: POVERTY AMONG SENIORS IN CANADA

A snapshot of seniors living in poverty based on 2023 data

We are committed to improving the quality of life for seniors now and for generations to come.

The Government has implemented several measures to improve the financial security of low-income seniors, including a 10% increase in the maximum Guaranteed Income Supplement benefit for single seniors, as well as a 10% increase in the Old Age Security pension for seniors aged 75 and older. Old Age Security program benefits are also indexed quarterly to help keep pace with the cost of living.

Our poverty reduction efforts are working. The poverty rate among seniors decreased from 7.1% in 2015 to 5.0% in 2023.

If pressed on food insecurity among seniors

Our Government recognizes that food insecurity and food prices have been on the rise, putting pressure on household finances, including those of vulnerable seniors, and making it more difficult for many families to consistently afford nutritious food.

Old Age Security pension and Guaranteed Income Supplement play a significant role in helping seniors meet their basic needs, including food. The Government continues these programs, including through automatic enrollment, so that more seniors get the benefits to which they are entitled.

If pressed on whether the Market Basket Measure accurately measures poverty among seniors

The Market Basket Measure was adopted as Canada’s Official Poverty Line following extensive consultations with and support from Canadians and experts across the country.

The Market Basket Measure is an absolute measure of poverty that measures the ability of an individual or family to purchase a basket of goods and services required to meet a modest, basic standard of living. A major strength of the MBM is that it is sensitive to regional differences in the cost of living.

On May 1, 2025, Statistics Canada published “The proposed methodology for the 2023-base Market Basket Measure of poverty.” The paper marks the conclusion of the analytical phase of the Third Comprehensive Review of the Market Basket Measure and proposes several updates and improvements for the MBM methodology in the provinces and territories, to be known as the ‘2023-base’ of the Market Basket Measure. The 2023-base of the Market Basket Measure will become official after a final review period, with official poverty rates using the new base released in November of 2025.

The Old Age Security program has played an important role in reducing poverty among seniors.

The age of eligibility was restored to 65 from 67 for both the Old Age Security (OAS) pension and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), which prevented 100,000 seniors aged 65 and 66 from plunging into poverty.

To help seniors who are living in poverty or are most at risk of living in poverty, the maximum GIS benefit was increased for single seniors by 10% in July 2016, an increase that benefits nearly 900,000 vulnerable seniors in Canada who rely almost exclusively on the OAS pension and GIS, and which provided an additional amount of nearly $1,150 in 2023, indexed to inflation each quarter.

In July 2022, the OAS pension increased by 10 percent for seniors 75 years and older, to provide more than $800 in new support to full pensioners over the first year, and increased benefits for more than 3 million seniors.

The Market Basket Measure (MBM)

The MBM is a made-in-Canada measure that received broad support from Canadians, including academic experts, during the public engagement process for Canada’s first Poverty Reduction Strategy. As a result, the Poverty Reduction Act (2019) established the MBM as Canada’s Official Poverty Line and defined poverty reduction targets based on the measure.

The MBM establishes poverty thresholds based on the costs of a basket of goods and services that individuals and families require to meet their basic needs and achieve a basic, modest standard of living.

According to the MBM methodology, an individual or family is considered to be living in poverty if their disposable income (the income remaining after unavoidable expenses have been removed) is insufficient to purchase the goods and services included in the basket. MBM disposable income is calculated by deducting expenses such as pension plan contributions, medical expenses, spousal support payments, child care expenses, etc. from after-tax income.

As an absolute measure of low income, when the incomes of lower-income individuals rise, poverty rates calculated using the MBM tend to fall, because more people can afford the basket, everything else being equal.

Table 1: Poverty rates in Canada for persons aged 65 years and over by province, 2015, 2022 and 2023

Canada’s Official Poverty Line, 2018-MBM base

2015

2022

2023

Canada overall (provinces)

7.1%

6.0%

5.0%

Newfoundland and Labrador

8.8%

5.5%

5.1%

Prince Edward Island

13.2%

8.6%

5.4%

Nova Scotia

10.4%

10.4%

8.6%

New Brunswick

11.2%

8.2%

7.3%

Quebec

6.8%

2.9%

3.1%

Ontario

6.1%

6.7%

5.3%

Manitoba

5.9%

6.3%

4.6%

Saskatchewan

6.1%

4.9%

4.7%

Alberta

3.1%

5.6%

4.2%

British Columbia

11.7%

8.7%

7.2%

Source: Canadian Income Survey

Note: Data is not available for those living in Territories.

In 2023, the poverty rate for seniors was 5.0%, compared to 6.0% in 2022, according to the market basket measure (MBM). This represents approximately 57,000 fewer seniors living in poverty.

The poverty rate among seniors has declined by 30% since 2015 (7.1%). Approximately 21,000 fewer seniors living in poverty in 2023 than in 2015. The number of seniors living in poverty in 2023 was estimated at 373,000. 

Single seniors are more affected, with a poverty rate of 11.5%, compared to 2.7% for those living in families.

Seniors aged 75 and older had a lower poverty rate (3.8%) than those aged 65-74 (5.9%). Both rates declined from 2015, when they were 7.6% and 6.8% respectively.

In 2023, 9.0% of Canadian seniors experienced food insecurity (measured as moderate or severe food insecurity) – up from 8.0% in 2022 and 5.7% in 2020. This rate does not include the population living in the territories or on reserves.