A new report from Community Development Halton (CDH) reveals a rise in poverty rates across the region following the pandemic, with Milton experiencing the highest increase.
The January 2025 report — based on T1FF taxfiler data from Statistics Canada — attributes the rise due to the financial strain brought on by COVID and the scaling back of government income supports, which has left many facing renewed financial challenges.
In Milton, the poverty rate surged from 10.5 per cent in 2020 to 15.1 per cent in 2022, the highest in Halton. The number of people living in poverty increased by nearly 30 per cent since 2018, totalling more than 20,600 individuals.
Other Halton municipalities saw similar trends. Oakville's rate rose from 11.4 per cent in 2020 to 14.8 per cent in 2022, while Burlington's climbed from 7.6 per cent to 9.9 per cent — and Georgetown/Acton went up to 9.4 per cent.
In total, about 78,400 people in Halton were living in poverty in 2022, or 12.8 per cent of the region’s population.
The report also highlights a concerning rise in child poverty.
In 2022, 17,110 children were living in poverty, up 22 per cent from 2018. Milton had the largest jump between 2021 and 2022, with 30 per cent of its child population living in poverty, followed by Oakville — which had the highest child poverty rate at 14.4 per cent. In comparison, 13.8 per cent of children in Milton, 10.5 per cent in Burlington and 8.1 per cent in Georgetown/Acton lived in poverty in 2022.
Senior poverty also saw an upward trend between 2018 and 2022.
Oakville saw the largest jump, with the number of seniors living in poverty increasing by 47 per cent, from 4,140 in 2018 to 6,080 in 2022. In 2022, Milton had a senior poverty rate of 26 per cent, Oakville’s was 17.1 per cent, Georgetown/Acton’s was 12.1 per cent and Burlington’s stood at 9.2 per cent.
Despite Halton's reputation as one of Canada's wealthiest regions, the CDH report notes the growing socio-economic disparities within the community and the ongoing vulnerability of children, seniors, non-family persons and single parents.
CDH stresses the need for more comprehensive poverty reduction strategies — focusing on addressing root causes, such as housing affordability, inadequate wages and systemic barriers.