Canada Social Report
Poverty Reduction Strategy
Summary, Newfoundland
and Labrador
Updated: May 2015
This series summarizes the poverty
reduction and social inclusion
strategies now in place or in development in provinces and territories
across Canada.
Details were gathered from public
documents made available by the
profiled jurisdiction.
ORIGINAL PLAN
Poverty Reduction: An Action Plan for Newfoundland and Labrador was
published in June 2006 and covered the period 2006-10. Setting an
aspirational goal of becoming the Canadian province with the lowest
poverty rate by 2014, the strategy also sought to achieve:
1. improved access and coordination of services for households with low
incomes
2. a stronger social safety net
3. improved earned incomes
4. increased emphasis on early childhood development
5. a better educated population.
In addition, the Northern Strategic Plan for Labrador was announced
on April 20, 2007. This five-year plan sought to enhance the health
and well-being of the residents of Labrador by improving infrastructure, advancing social programming and fostering economic prosperity.
Originally detailing 145 commitments and a total expected investment of
$300 million, by 2009, commitments had grown to 191 with an anticipated investment of $430 million over five years.
Specific actions undertaken include:
∙∙ Provincial Prescription Drug Program for Low-Income Residents
∙∙ Dental Program for low-income earners
∙∙ Reducing income tax
∙∙ Job Start Benefit Program
∙∙ expanded budget of eight women’s centres in province
∙∙ employment and education programs for people with disabilities
∙∙ helping community programs address homelessness.
OUTCOMES
In 2009, the province released its first strategy progress report. Empowering People - Engaging Community - Enabling Success: First Progress
Report on the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Poverty Reduction Strategy used low income cut-off statistics to detail the province’s
progress on poverty. It stated that the incidence of low income had
dropped from 12.2 percent in 2003 to 6.5 percent in 2007, a decrease
of 30,000 people. The depth of poverty (the average amount low-income households fall below the LICO) decreased from $5,500 in 2003 to
$4,900 in 2007, the lowest rate in Canada at that time. The province’s
Income Support caseload went from 36,700 in 2003 to 31,323 in 2008
– a decrease of 5,000 cases. More than 4,000 Income Support clients
were reported to have started employment between 2006 and 2008.
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May 2015
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Though unsuccessful in becoming the province with the lowest poverty
rate in the country, Newfoundland and Labrador improved its ranking,
moving from second highest to third lowest.
Budget 2010: The Right Investments – For Our Children and Our Future
allocated $134 million to the strategy to support more than 80 ongoing
poverty reduction initiatives. Instead of releasing a newer version of the
action plan, the province committed to consulting with the public every
two years to ensure initiatives reflect the priorities of provincial stakeholders.
A second progress report was released in June 2014, four years after
the expiry of the first action plan, and the date by which the province
had hoped to achieve the lowest poverty rate in the country. The report
found:
∙∙ a 50 percent drop in the number of persons living with low incomes
occurred between 2003 to 2011, as measured by low income cut-offs
∙∙ Median Family Income increased by 26 percent
∙∙ in 2013, seven percent of residents received Income Support, the
lowest level ever recorded
∙∙ the province ranks as the most affordable jurisdiction on the Cost of
Learning Index – a measure of the cost of postsecondary education.
NEWER PLAN DIRECTIONS
In November, 2014, the province announced that it was gathering input
for a renewal of its poverty reduction strategy. It reported that approximately $1 billion had been approved for poverty reduction initiatives since
the launch of its original 2006 strategy.
Reference
Canada Without Poverty. (2013). Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Poverty Profile. Ottawa.
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May 2015
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