Canadian Council on Social Development 441 MacLaren Street 4th/e Floor/Étage Ottawa, ON K2P 2H3

Conseil canadien de développement social Tel: (613) 236-8977 Fax: (613) 236-2750 E-mail: council@ccsd.ca Internet: www.ccsd.ca

Communiqué

APRIL 17, 2000

Poverty in urban areas in Québec

OTTAWA - The Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD) today released La pauvreté dans les agglomérations urbaines du Québec, a new report which examines poverty levels among individuals and families in Québec and sets out a poverty index for 23 of Québec's principal urban areas.

In 1995, 23.4% of Québec's population lived below Statistics Canada's low income cut-off. Poverty rates varied widely between urban areas, from 12% in Baie-Comeau to 27.3% in Montréal. On average in Québec, people living in poverty earned nearly $7,340 less than the low income cut-off. Among families living in poverty, average earnings were nearly $10,260 below the low income cut-off. Figures from the latest Census show that among large- and medium-sized urban areas in Québec, the urban areas of Montreal, Québec and Shawinigan had the highest rates of poverty while those of Baie-Comeau, Thetford Mines and Rouyn-Noranda had the lowest rates.

Report author and CCSD researcher Sylvain Schetagne said: "We expected to find significant differences in poverty rates between different groups in society, for instance between working adults and retirees or youth, but we were quite surprised to see such great disparities in poverty levels between Québec's various urban areas."

"This report will enable researchers, policy-makers and service providers to better understand the nature of poverty in their own urban areas and see how it differs from the situation in other urban areas in Québec," said Marcel Lauzière, Executive Director of the CCSD.

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For more information, contact: John Kane, Communications Officer Tel: (613) 236-8977, ext.228; Fax: (613) 236-2750 E-mail: kane@ccsd.ca

To order a copy of the report, use our Online Order Form or contact: Louise Clarke, CCSD Publications Tel: (613) 236-8977, ext. 225; Fax: (613) 236-2750 E-mail: publications@ccsd.ca

 

Urban Poverty in Canada: A Statistical Profile, by Kevin Lee, is currently available only in English. A French translation will be published at a later date. La Pauvreté dans les agglomérations urbaines du Québec, by Sylvain Schetagne, which examines poverty in urban areas in Québec, is available only in French. These reports are on the CCSD's website, at www.ccsd.ca. To order printed copies of these reports, contact: Louise Clarke, CCSD Publications, tel: (613) 236-8977, ext. 225; fax: (613) 236-2750; e-mail: publications@ccsd.ca, or use our Online Order Form. La Pauvreté dans les agglomérations urbaines du Québec, par Sylvain Schetagne, est disponible uniquement en français. Le Rapport Urban Poverty in Canada: A Statistical Profile, par Kevin Lee, qui examine la situation de la pauvreté dans les grandes villes du Canada, est présentement disponible en anglais. La version française du rapport sera publiée prochainement. Ces rapports sont aussi disponibles sur notre site web, au www.ccsd.ca. Pour obtenir d'autres exemplaires de ces rapports, veuillez contacter : Louise Clarke, CCDS, Publications, tél : (613) 236-8977, poste 225; fax : (613) 236-2750; courriel : publications@ccsd.ca.Voir notre formulaire de commande.

The Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD) is an independent, national, non-profit organization focussing on areas of social and economic security.

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