Calgary, July 13, 2022 – Vibrant Communities Calgary’s Executive Director Meaghon Reid made the following statement about the latest Income Survey data released by Statistics Canada today.

“While Vibrant Communities Calgary was pleased to see the number of Calgarians experiencing income poverty declined in 2020, we know this only tells half of the story. Pandemic benefits like the Canada Emergency Response benefit and other COVID-19-related supports played a significant role in improving poverty – this support was welcome and made a difference to many.

2021 will tell a different story. What we know is record setting increases in food, shelter and energy costs are pushing more-and-more people into poverty – with no end in sight. This affects all of us, but particularly those living on low incomes. Many are making tough choices.

Now is the time for policymakers to take steps to avoid a full reversal of the gains we saw in 2020. Improvements to income support, more affordable housing and support for rising costs are ways we can ensure that we eliminate poverty for good.”

VCC is a non-profit organization that works collaboratively with stakeholders and partners to engage and serve Calgarians and to advocate for long-term strategies that address the root causes of poverty in Calgary. VCC engages the community using a Collective Impact approach to poverty reduction and is the steward of the Enough for All 2.0 Poverty Reduction Strategy. For more information, visit enoughforall.ca or follow us on twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

For more information, contact us.