Tracking the same people across several years, researchers found that poverty in Greater Montreal reaches far more households than yearly snapshots suggest, and they point to benefit levels and social housing as the policy levers.
More than one in four adults in Greater Montreal lived below the poverty line for at least one year between 2016 and 2023, according to a new Montreal poverty study that suggests financial hardship is far more widespread than annual figures reveal. The research was carried out by Quebec’s Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) in collaboration with Centraide of Greater Montreal and released Thursday.
The findings arrive as Quebec’s incoming Parti Québécois government prepares to take office. They put pressure on politicians to look beyond a single year’s poverty rate and consider how many people move in and out of hardship over time.
One in Four: What the Montreal Poverty Study Measured
The study covers the Montreal metropolitan area, which includes the city itself, Laval and the surrounding suburbs. Its central finding is that 26 per cent of adults in that region spent at least one year below the poverty line during the eight-year window from 2016 to 2023.
Researchers used Statistics Canada data that followed the same people’s circumstances across several years. This longitudinal approach differs from the more familiar annual poverty rate, which shows how many people are poor in a single year but not whether they are the same people from one year to the next.
The study broke the 26 per cent figure into two groups:
- Persistent poverty: 14 per cent of adults lived below the poverty line for at least three of the eight years.
- Shorter spells: another 12 per cent were in poverty for one or two years.
“Poverty really affects a lot of people,” said Tasha Lackman, president and CEO of Centraide of Greater Montreal, a charity that funds community organizations working against poverty and social exclusion.
Why the 10 to 12 Per Cent Annual Rate Misses So Many Montrealers
Since 2020, the region’s annual poverty rate has stayed between 10 and 12 per cent. On its own, that number suggests roughly one adult in ten is affected. The multi-year view more than doubles that share.
The gap matters for how poverty is understood. A yearly rate can make hardship look like the fixed condition of a small group. The INRS data shows that a much larger part of the population passes through poverty at some point, even if many people climb back out within a year or two.
General context: For readers following business and the economy, this distinction is relevant beyond social policy. A household that drops below the poverty line for a year, after a job loss, illness or rent increase, is also a household that cuts spending, draws down savings or takes on debt. Snapshot statistics can understate how many consumers and workers are financially fragile at any given moment.
Bus Fares and First Paycheques: The Small Costs That Keep People Stuck
Lackman said getting out of poverty is often harder than it looks, because costs that seem minor to most people can become real barriers for those with no financial cushion.
She gave several examples drawn from the experiences of people Centraide’s partner organizations serve:
- Transit for children: families who struggle to pay public transit fares so their children can take part in educational activities.
- Getting to interviews: adults who cannot cover the cost of travelling to a job interview.
- The gap before payday: new workers who cannot afford transportation to get to their job in the weeks before their first paycheque arrives.
These examples point to a practical problem. A person may be ready and willing to work, yet a short-term cash shortfall can delay or derail the move into employment.
Immigrants Face the Most Persistent Hardship
The study found that persistent poverty, meaning at least three years below the line, was especially common among immigrants. It affected 22 per cent of recent immigrants.
Length of time in Canada did not erase the gap. Among immigrants who had lived in the country for more than a decade, 20 per cent experienced persistent poverty, well above the 14 per cent figure for adults in the region overall.
The report summary does not explain why the rate stays high for long-settled newcomers. The finding does suggest that the economic challenges faced by many immigrants in Greater Montreal are not limited to the first few years after arrival.
Long-Term Senior Poverty Rose From 1% to 11%
One of the study’s most striking comparisons concerns adults aged 65 and older. The researchers looked at the share of seniors who spent seven or eight years of an eight-year period below the poverty line.
| Period | Seniors (65+) in poverty for 7 or 8 years |
|---|---|
| 1992 to 1999 | 1 per cent |
| 2016 to 2023 | 11 per cent |
Xavier St-Denis, an INRS professor and the study’s author, said Canada has done relatively well at reducing senior poverty through federal programs such as Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement.
But he said large wealth inequalities remain among older adults. Those most exposed are seniors who reach retirement with little savings and who do not own a home, leaving them without the asset base that cushions many retirees.
$845 a Month: Why Single Adults Under 65 Fall Through the Gaps
The report’s main recommendation is to raise government benefits, with a particular focus on social assistance payments. It identifies single adults under 65 as an especially disadvantaged group, because seniors and families receive more generous government support.
According to the Quebec government’s website, the monthly social assistance amounts for a single adult are:
- No health-related employment limitations: $845 a month.
- Qualifying health-related limitations: $1,014 a month.
The report argues that neither amount is enough to lift a person out of poverty. Seen alongside Lackman’s examples, a monthly budget at that level leaves little room for transit fares, job-search costs or an unexpected bill.
What Family Benefits Showed About Work Incentives
A common objection to raising benefits is that higher payments might discourage people from working. St-Denis said that concern has not been borne out in the case of government support for families.
“Benefits increased without having a negative effect on mothers’ participation in the labour market,” he said. He added that family payments have been particularly effective at reducing poverty among single mothers.
The researchers present that record as evidence that higher support for other groups, such as single working-age adults, need not come at the expense of employment. Whether governments accept that argument is a separate political question.
Social Housing and the Parti Québécois Homelessness Pledge
Lackman also highlighted a housing finding. People living in neighbourhoods with more social housing were less likely to fall into poverty, according to the study.
That result connects directly to the province’s new political landscape. The Parti Québécois won Quebec’s Oct. 5 election and is preparing to form a minority government. Its leader, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, has promised to make reducing homelessness a priority, a focus Lackman welcomed.
The debate over who shapes neighbourhood well-being, and who benefits when a city grows, is one Brand Magazine has explored from the business side in our look at how growing businesses affect the communities around them. The INRS findings add a data-driven housing dimension to that conversation.
“We need to make sure our politicians and society in general understand the urgency of the situation when one in four people has experienced poverty,” Lackman said.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who conducted the study?
Quebec’s Institut national de la recherche scientifique, in collaboration with Centraide of Greater Montreal. The author is INRS professor Xavier St-Denis.
What area does the study cover?
The Montreal metropolitan area, including Montreal, Laval and surrounding suburbs.
Why is the 26 per cent figure higher than the annual poverty rate?
It counts everyone who was below the poverty line in at least one year from 2016 to 2023, while the annual rate, between 10 and 12 per cent since 2020, captures only one year at a time.
What does the report recommend?
Higher government benefits, especially social assistance payments. It also notes that neighbourhoods with more social housing had lower rates of people falling into poverty.
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