It seems to be hard for the average person to get ahead financially these days. Inflation has been one challenge. Taxation levels is another.
That is one of the findings of a StatsCan report on incomes in 2023. The calculations show Saskatchewan lagged the nation when measuring the median, after-tax income levels of families and unattached individuals. That’s the point where half the population is below and half is above that number.
The median in this province was $72,800 compared to $74,200 nationally. We stood fourth behind Alberta which leads the country as well as Ontario and BC.
It’s also $1,100 behind where we were when the COVID pandemic was declared. Actually, that’s the story across the country – we really haven’t seen much improvement in the last five years.
The poverty rate, especially for seniors, was declining in 2023 although Indigenous people are twice as likely to find themselves living below the poverty line.
However, food insecurity was much more widespread. Ten-percent of Canadians live below the poverty line but 25-percent experience food insecurity, especially single parent families when that number rises to one-in-two.
