Politicians of all stripes and flavours in this country will hold numerous photo-ops celebrating the great strides their governments have made in reducing child poverty and hunger, and some progress has admittedly been made, but the Feed Ontario and Manitoulin Family Resources Hunger Reports tell a disturbingly different story.
Much is made in the media about the ongoing affordability and housing crisis being faced in this province, and across the country, as well as the ever-present challenge of inflation. Those issues are front and centre in the reports.
Certainly, inflation appears to have been tamed, somewhat, despite the continuing threat of tariffs imposed on our exports by the current US president. But the main reported figure this past October of 2.2 percent year-over-year inflation only tells part of the story. Food inflation, the price attached to filling the weekly family grocery order, remains around 2.4 percent in stores and 3.4 percent in restaurants. In fact, food inflation continues to top the list of Canadians’ financial concerns.
According to the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University in its inaugural Canadian Food Sentiment Index 84.1 percent of respondents identified food as one of the expenses that have increased the most in the past year, with many adjusting their shopping habits to manage rising costs.
Moreover, the public has little faith in the government’s reported statistic of 2.4 or 3.4 percent food inflation, believing the real numbers to be much higher. On the bright side, Canadians continue to have high confidence in the safety of the food system. So, in food we trust, but in governments, not so much. Small wonder since the evidence is right before our eyes on the shelves.
Aligning with the data in the annual food reports, child poverty in Canada is on the rise after a decrease during the pandemic, with the rate reaching approximately 13.2 percent in 2023, while the newest report from September 2025 estimates 1.4 million Canadian children were experiencing poverty at the end of 2024.
In 2023, according to Canada’s Official Poverty Line, the poverty rate stood at 10.2 precent, which is nearly four million people experiencing poverty (according to Statistics Canada, 2025b). This represents a 30 percent decrease in the overall poverty rate compared to 2015 (14.5 precent) and roughly one million fewer people living in poverty in Canada since that time.
But while the overall poverty rate has decreased compared to 2015, the poverty rate increased for the third consecutive year in 2023. The 2023 poverty rate was also up 3.8 percentage points from 2020, when poverty was at its lowest point. This means that 1.5 million more people were experiencing poverty in Canada in 2023 compared to 2020.
That in one of the richest nations on Earth.
Only Alberta and Quebec see poverty rates below double digits. Ontario’s 2023 rate stands at 11.1 percent, up from 10.9 percent in 2022.
While some initiatives, such as the Canada Child Benefit (CCB), have helped, rising costs of living have offset any progress being made, and too many families are struggling just to afford basic needs. The federal government also announced new measures in its own 2025 report, including a permanent National School Food Program and Canada Revenue plans for automatic tax filing that the government hopes will ensure more families receive benefits like the CCB and the new Canada Disability Benefit.
But these measures will likely not move the bar in a positive way very far, at least in the short term.
Manitoulin Family Resources estimate that they will need to purchase $100,000 worth of food for their 2025 Christmas Basket campaign, most of that coming by way of donations from those of us who are able to fill our pantries with seasonal goodies.
The Expositor is trying to do its bit, as we do every year, with our Christmas Business Challenge where people drop off toys and non-perishable food items to our Little Current and Gore Bay offices for Manitoulin Family Resources to distribute.
But the dire situation facing too many families calls for more.
This Christmas giving season, perhaps each of us can forgo purchasing a present or a favourite food item and instead send those funds to Manitoulin Family Resources to help defray the rising costs of providing a bit of Christmas cheer to struggling individuals and families.
Manitoulin Islanders are famous for their caring spirits, rallying around those who are facing tragedy and hardship. In unity and with determination, we can accomplish just about anything.
