Child poverty report card shows B.C.'s rate dropped by 4.7% in 2020, warns inflation may reverse progress

A silhouette against the sky of a man holding a child in Kansas City, Mo., Friday, June 26, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Charlie Riedel

The first year of the COVID-19 pandemic marked a record low for child poverty rates in British Columbia, new data shows.

According to the 2022 BC Child Poverty Report Card, which was released on Tuesday, the province’s child poverty rate was 13.3 per cent in 2020—representing an annual decrease of 4.7 per cent.

First Call Child and Youth Advocacy has released a report card on child and family poverty in B.C. annually for the past 26 years, and 2020 is the first time the provincial rate dipped below Canada’s—which was 13.5 per cent.

“This year, the data tells us that a variety of short-term pandemic benefits, one-time financial benefits and changes to the Canada Child Benefit dramatically reduced the number of families,” reads the report.

However, now that most pandemic supports have expired, and amid record inflation and high living costs, First Call warns that any progress made towards decreasing the rate and severity of family poverty in 2020 may be lost.

“Now, more than ever, it is critical for governments at all levels to ensure that public services are robust and reach those most in need, that families can access affordable housing and that inflation is curbed,” the report states.

Speaking to media Tuesday morning, B.C.’s minister of social development and poverty reduction acknowledged the steps the government has taken— both under former premier John Horgan and B.C’s current leader, David Eby—to improve the lives of vulnerable people.

Sheila Malcolmson said. “Even with all that change, we know global inflation has really hit people hard and the people that are the most vulnerable continue to be left behind.”

She pointed to the Throne Speech as evidence of the government’s commitment to make more change for British Columbians who are struggling financially.

WHO’S BEING LEFT BEHIND

Children and youth from First Nations and racialized families are disproportionally represented in the report.

Data collected from 59 B.C. First Nations shows the child poverty rate on urban reserves was 25.2 per cent in 2020—while rural reserves saw a rate of 33.9 per cent.

The report’s authors note that their data does not reflect the larger traditional territories of B.C.’s First Nations, where many Indigenous children and families live.

“The continuing legacy of colonialism is still very apparent in these numbers,” the report’s authors wrote. “Governments at all levels must meaningfully collaborate with First Nations, Métis and Inuit governments to develop and implement plans to prevent, reduce and eradicate child and family poverty.”

Compared to non-racialized children, 2021 Census data showed more than one in five recent immigrant children lived in poverty in B.C. in 2020—while the province’s overall rate stood at one in eight children.

Additionally, B.C.’s most recent homeless count found 36 per cent of survey respondents lived in foster care, a youth home or independently as a child.

“The legacy of high rates of homelessness among former youth in care represents our failure to support these young people with the comprehensive wrap-around supports they need as they transition into adulthood without the family supports most other young people can count on,” the report card highlights.

First Call published 25 recommendations for all levels of government alongside its report. Calls for policy changes fall under four pillars: tax fairness and income support; targeted initiatives for groups over-represented in poverty data; lower barriers and improve lives through universal programs; and replacing B.C.’s official measure of poverty.