In 2002, Quebec became the first province in Canada to enact a poverty reduction strategy. Since then, the strategy has been revisited every five years to assess and renew the provincial government’s efforts to combat poverty and social exclusion. In addition, Quebec’s overall approach to poverty-related issues, and indeed its broader social policies, is distinct from those of much of the rest of Canada.

A Distinct Focus on Employment

The first notable feature is the Government of Quebec’s historical focus on employment as the primary solution for addressing poverty and social exclusion. This focus was central to the province’s first poverty reduction action plan, released in April 2004. Aspects of both the plan and later policies fostered the development of various initiatives to supplement low incomes and incentivize the transition from social assistance benefits to employment.

One example of these initiatives is the Work Premium Tax Credits, refundable tax credits meant to encourage low-income citizens to enter or remain in the workforce. The credits are offered to workers whose annual pay falls below the maximum allowed cut-off. The maximum annual payment ranges from $961.18 for a single person to $3,351.50 for a couple with at least one child.

Primacy of Support for Families and Children

Quebec also offers a high level of support for families and households with children. The early introduction of a universal childcare program was central to this support and has been a defining policy of Quebec’s social programs (though not targeted at households with low incomes).

Other initiatives to support families with children have also been introduced—for example, the Family Allowance and the Solidarity Tax Credit. As well as supporting low-income families, these initiatives have been credited with helping to address child poverty in the province. Quebec has the second-lowest rate of child poverty in Canada: 14.3%.

With that said, there is always room for growth. Even though food insecurity rates are low, 15% of the province still struggles with it.  Furthermore, social assistance rates are still well below the poverty line, which leaves people who rely on these last-resort systems in an impossible situation. Findings from our survey also demonstrate that there’s a large difference in the poverty experience for visible minorities living in Quebec. These discrepancies tell us that Quebec needs to make a concerted effort to address the gaps and ensure that there are no groups struggling significantly more than others.

Although overall rates of poverty and food insecurity remain relatively low in Quebec, residents spend 12.4% of household income on food-related costs, which is among the highest of the provinces. This compares to 11% nationally and 10.7% of household expenditures in Ontario.  Quebec has also experienced the second-highest increase in food prices—9.3%—over the past year, from April 2022 to 2023.

Quebec is ahead of the rest of the country, but it must continue moving forward to stay ahead and to keep Quebec a province where poverty struggles to find a foothold.

Sociodemographic Considerations

Quebec is one of three provinces with a large enough sample size to report on racialized communities in our survey.

Despite Quebec’s leadership in the poverty realm, there is a surprising poverty gap between racialized communities in Quebec and the rest of the province.

Starting with employment related issues, racialized communities in Quebec are 11 percentage points more likely to report that low wages are impacting their ability to make ends meet. Even more staggering, is that individuals in this group are 14 percentage points more likely to report that mental health is affecting their ability to find work, work effectively, or maintain finances.

With employment challenges, comes more reliance on government social services. Unfortunately, 30% of the individuals who are part of racialized communities believe that social assistance rates aren’t high enough to keep up with the rising cost of living (almost double than the provincial average of 17%).

What’s equally concerning is that half of the respondents in this group also have challenges navigating the tax system. This challenge navigating the tax system may result in deserved benefits not being collected by those who need them. Making matters worse, 30% find it hard to access social services which may be cutting them off from other much needed forms of support.

Unfortunately, racialized people in Quebec are no exception when it comes to the struggles with affordable housing.  Within the demographic, 36% say that it’s hard to keep up with rising rents (8 percentage points higher than the provincial average).

With all this in mind, it’s not surprising to find that 42% of racialized Quebecers feel financially worse off than they did one year ago, which is 8 percentage points higher than the provincial average. The provincial government will need to take steps to address the disparity in experience between racialized and non-racialized citizens.

The poverty reduction framework is revisited approximately every five years in Quebec, and the most recent review took place in 2017 (for the 2017–2023 period). Within that plan, the government announced its intention to introduce a basic income for Quebecers with a severely limited capacity for employment. Other measures fall under four categories:

1. lift over 100,000 people out of poverty and increase the incomes of people living in poverty (e.g., progressively increase last-resort financial benefits, support training for young people),
2. invest to improve social housing,
3. encourage the social participation of individuals and families with low incomes and mobilize communities (e.g., improve access to healthy, nutritious, and affordable food, improve computer skills), and
4. research and assessment: Make government action to combat poverty and social exclusion more effective.

In 2018, the government introduced a $400 refundable tax credit for seniors with low incomes, and in 2021 and 2022, it introduced several one-time tax credits to help individuals deal with the rising cost of living.

The provincial government in Quebec is currently in the process of setting out its goals for the next phase of its poverty reduction strategy. With the rising cost of living, extreme housing prices, and shifts in the modern job economy, the province will need to continue to find innovative policy solutions.

Looking ahead on 2023-24, Quebec must follow through on these promises and continue to make headway in the next phase of its poverty reduction plan.

Accountability

1. Establish a new poverty reduction strategy, with the ambitious goal to end poverty by 2030

Quebec leads the way in poverty reduction across Canada, with many of the core elements that are essential to ensure economic opportunity for all in place, including:

• higher benefits that are indexed to inflation,
• equitable income supports for families,
• affordable and universal childcare, and
• a sizable proportion of the rental market that is affordable for the lowest income quintile.

Much of this success is down to the governments and policy efforts of two decades ago. It is ironic that the first province to establish and pass into law a provincial poverty strategy in 2004 has not updated its own strategy since 2017. And much of the progress on poverty reduction in the province realized in the last several years has been thanks to a combination of leadership from the federal government and a tight labour market that has improved wages and job opportunities.

With the 2023 targets of the 2017 plan about to expire, it is imperative the Quebec government approach its efforts with renewed ambition. We recommend that a revised plan be framed around the necessary work of moving from a focus on poverty reduction to a focus on poverty elimination, with the goal of achieving this ambitious but achievable social project by the close of the decade. Having reduced the poverty rate by nearly two-thirds—from 13.5% in 2015 to 5.2% in 2021—it is entirely possible to close this gap to near zero. But it will require effective leadership.

An early and achievable priority area for the strategy could involve family benefits. Provincial income support and other transfers already equate to 92% of the market basket poverty line for a couple with two children, and 81% for single parents with one child.

Affordable Housing

2. Accelerate the construction of purpose-built affordable rental housing

Similar to our recommendations for the province of Ontario, we recommend Quebec consider introducing a provincial housing accelerator fund. The program can be implemented using a combination of financing tools to better assist non-profit housing providers with the cost of land acquisition and capital grants, along with capital cost allowances and capital loss pooling provisions, targeted specifically at private developers who commit to rental affordability targets as part of a particular development project.

Cost of Living and Income Support

3. Pioneer a low-income food benefit

To address the higher expenditures on food in the province, the Quebec government should look at introducing a permanent low-income food benefit to help people in low- and modest-income households who already receive the GST credit.

4. Balance Disability Social Assistance Rates

Quebec is the only province in the country with disability assistance rates that lag behind assistance rates for employable individuals. With almost $5000 a year less in assistance, residents with a disability are put to a greater disadvantage than they already face. We recommend that the province bring the disability assistance rates in parity with individuals without a disability.