The Yukon has a lower poverty rate than Canada as a whole, but poverty in rural areas of the territory is far higher than the national average, the Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition says.

The Yukon lowered its poverty rate from 12.9 per cent in 2022 to nearly 9.9 per cent in 2023.

Nationwide, the 2023 poverty rate was 10.9 per cent, according to Statistics Canada.

But Keitha Clark, project coordinator with the anti-poverty coalition, said that while one in five children live in poverty nationwide, in Ross River, that number climbs to nearly one in four (23.9 per cent). 

When it comes to overall poverty, the report listed Whitehorse as having the lowest poverty rate in the territory at seven per cent, which it attributed to “strong labour force participation and higher median incomes.” 

But rural communities, including Dawson City (18.2 per cent) and Watson Lake (13.3 per cent) had higher-than-average poverty rates.

The Yukon released its Poverty Report Card this week, following last week’s release of the 2025 Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Canada by Campaign 2000.

A grim picture of poverty across Canada

Both reports paint a grim picture of poverty across the country. According to the national report, at the current rate, it would take 400 years to eliminate childhood poverty, and childhood poverty rates have been steadily increasing since 2020. 

The reports are a continuation of Campaign 2000, an ambitious 1989 promise from the House of Commons to eliminate childhood poverty by the year 2000.

National Campaign 2000 Director Leila Sarangi said the country can look to solutions put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic as a roadmap for how to address poverty.

“Emergency pandemic benefits, which were pretty substantial, really helped to reduce the rates of poverty,” she said. 

In 2020, poverty rates dipped below one million for the first time. That is until their expiration triggered a sharp three-year backslide. Child poverty has more than doubled since 2020, according to the national report.

The report outlines short and long-term strategies that Sarangi said could reduce childhood poverty. 

She said a targeted child poverty supplement” for low-income families could cut poverty within the year.

“Continued investment in childcare, expansion in deeply affordable housing and an expansion of our pharmacare programs are some of the longer-term initiatives,” Sarangi said.

Clark agreed that any solution will require expanding public policy.

“When you have things like the [Canada Pension Plan], Old Age Security – which is why we’re seeing lower poverty rates for seniors – that makes a big positive impact in our community,” said Clark.

“We have these frameworks to build on,” she continued. “Let’s just strengthen them and continue to collect data and continue to remember the people behind the numbers that are having to make these hard choices every day in our community between groceries and rent.”