If Nova Scotia were a child on the last day of school, its parents would be far from pleased.
Food Banks Canada released their Poverty Report Cards this week, scoring each province on how it’s weathering the ongoing affordability crisis and the social programs implemented to help those most impacted.
Nova Scotia has scored a D, with a report card littered with F’s and a couple C’s and B’s to drag up the average.
The report cards consist of four sections, 13 indicators and a grade for each one, culminating in an average grade that represents the province. The methodology for the study is available at the end of the document, but in summary, they base the grades on the provincial average for each indicator in their 2023 study. For legislative grading, they inspect government reports, announcements and budgets to see what actions a government has taken to address key issues.
Out of the four sections, Nova Scotia scored a D in the Experience of Poverty category, an F in Poverty Measures, a C+ in Material Deprivation Index, and a D in Legislative Progress.
The positive side is that, according to the report, 41 percent of people said they feel worse off than they did last year. This is down from the year before and has been steadily decreasing since 2024, meaning that in terms of public perception of poverty impacting individuals, it is slowly getting better. The portion of fixed income spent on costs outside of housing is at 52.7 percent, which gives Nova Scotia a B on this indicator, which Food Banks Canada says is below the national average.
Unfortunately, every other grade in the Experience of Poverty category is an F. People are spending more than 30 percent of their income on rent. Government support recipients say their payments aren’t keeping up with the cost of living. Access to healthcare isn’t improving (Nova Scotia has typically received C’s and B’s in this category).
In Poverty Measures, Nova Scotia gets F’s across the board. It has a poverty rate of 10.9 percent (just below the national average of 11.1 percent), an unemployment rate of 6.6 percent (national average is 6.7 percent), a food insecurity rate of a whopping 26.2 percent (national average is 24 percent), and rates for social assistance and disability assistance as a percent of the poverty line at 30.9 percent and 51.2 percent, respectively.
On another positive note, Material Deprivation scores improved from previous years. Severely inadequate standard of living reports dropped to 20 percent from 26 percent, and inadequate standard of living reports are at 30 percent, down from 37 percent. “Across Canada, Nova Scotia has seen the greatest drop in material deprivation over the last 12 months,” reads the report. “Despite this progress, however, deprivation remains widespread.”
Its final grade, Legislative Progress, sits at a D overall, marginally worse than the two previous years (B’s) and marginally better than the 2023 grade (F). The province introduced improvements to its school lunch program, invested in training for workers, increased the minimum wage, and supported housing developments through changing regulations.
However, it still faces several issues. Food Banks Canada mentions the province’s recent budget cuts as a core reason for the grade, which impacted two food insecurity programs and the Student Transit Pass Pilot Program. The report also calls out the provincial government’s focus on broad tax measures that seek to primarily benefit high-income households.
Another continued issue is tenancy rights, of which there has been little improvement. The report cites the end of the province-wide five percent rent cap in 2027 and the limited reach of the Canada-Nova Scotia Targeted Housing Benefit (applicable to those who spend 50 percent or more of their income on rent), but there are several other issues ignored by the province: the fixed-term lease loophole and renovictions that act as a way to bypass the rent cap, and the lack of new affordable housing units.
The report offers several policy recommendations to the province, including:
- Restoring the Heating Assistance Rebate Program to $600 instead of $400.
- Expanding the Targeted Rental Benefit and improving tenancy rights.
- Increasing social assistance rates.
- Reversing cuts to the Poverty Reduction Credit while expanding it.
- Reducing earnings clawback in income-tested benefits.
- Restoring funding for skills training programs cut in the most recent budget.
- Reducing inequalities experienced by Mi’kmaq and Black Nova Scotians.
- Implementing a poverty reduction strategy and a target to reduce food insecurity.
The full report, including further details on Nova Scotia and Canada’s provinces and territories, is available on the Food Banks Canada website.
