Edmonton Social Planning Council

Category: Resources: Housing

  • A Profile of Poverty in Edmonton – May 2019 Update

    Poverty affects people from all walks of life — young, old, employed, unemployed, those who are new to Canada and those whose ancestors have lived here for hundreds of years. The structure of the economy traps people in bad situations and forces some into poverty by constraining choices and limiting options (Ghatak, 2015). Limited social housing, eroding benefits, and lack of access to stable, good-paying jobs, has created an economy that takes away many people’s choices and leads to poverty. People are increasingly forced into unstable jobs that don’t pay enough to satisfy needs, and some can’t find jobs at all. The cost of living has also gone up, which forces many people to focus on making ends meet and living day-to-day, rather than planning for the future or their children’s future. Because people in poverty lack the means to participate in their communities, they are often socially isolated (Mood & Jonsson, 2016; Stewart et al., 2009). The stress experienced from poverty can lead to negative impacts on mental and emotional health, the ability to make decisions, and even family and neighbourhood cohesion (Carvalho, Meier, & Wang, 2016).

    Edmontonians believe in helping and protecting one another, so we must work together to address poverty. For this reason, the Edmonton Social Planning Council has produced this Profile on Poverty — 2019 Update in partnership with EndPovertyEdmonton. EndPovertyEdmonton is a community initiative working towards prosperity for all through advancing reconciliation, the elimination of racism, livable incomes, affordable housing, accessible and affordable transit, affordable and quality child care, and access to mental health services and addiction supports (EndPovertyEdmonton, 2019). It uses a collaborative model, whereby governments, businesses, non-profits, and many other forms of organizations can come together to end poverty in Edmonton in a generation (30 years).

    We need to break the constraints of our current economy. Every Edmontonian deserves to have the freedom to pursue opportunities.

    It is our responsibility to ensure all people in our city have a decent standard of living.

    ESPC Documents/PUBLICATIONS/A.06.G REPORTS/Edmonton Poverty Profile 2019b.pdf

  • 2018 Provincial Budget fACT Sheet

    The 2018 budget is titled A Recovery Built to Last and prioritizes economic and job diversification, protection of vital public services, and returning government spending to balance by the 2023-24 fiscal year. Real GDP for the province has grown 4.5% since 2017 and is expected increase another 2.7% for 2018-19. The yearly deficit is $8.8 billion, down from $10.3 billion in 2017. The Net Debt to GDP ratio is 8.7% for Alberta and remains the lowest in Canada across all provinces. Given the volatility of Alberta’s revenue due to the price of oil, a risk adjustment of $500 million is included for 2018-19 and increases to $700 million in 2019-20 and $1 billion in 2020-21.

    ESPC Documents/Fact Sheets/2018 Provincial Budget.pdf

  • Tracking the Trends 2018

    The Edmonton Social Planning Council (ESPC) today released the 2018 edition of its flagship publication Tracking the Trends. The 131-page publication provides a detailed analysis of social and economic trends in Edmonton. Information is provided about population demographics, education and employment, living costs & housing, income & wealth, poverty & government transfers, and key indicators of Edmonton’s social health.

    Download: Tracking the Trends 2018

    Planning Strategically for the Future:

    “Edmonton is the youngest major city in Canada and the only one that has become younger in the past ten years,” noted John Kolkman, the report’s lead author. “Not only does this mean that we need to build more seniors housing, but booming enrolments means Edmonton also has to build many new schools.”

    • Bucking national trends, in the most recent ten-year period, Edmonton has become slightly younger as the median age fell from 36.1 to 35.7 years (p.5);

    Increased Diversity

    “A key message in this year’s Tracking the Trends is that – despite a difficult economy caused by struggling oil and natural gas prices – Edmonton is still attracting thousands of newcomers from around the world who are eager to make a contribution in their new home. At quite a rapid rate, Edmonton is becoming increasingly diverse racially and culturally,” said Kolkman.

    • The number of immigrants and refugees permanently settling in metro Edmonton increased by 270% between 2000 and 2017 (p. 7);
    • Reflecting this increased diversity, the number of non-Indigenous Edmontonians who are visible minorities (non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour) more than tripled from 110,160 in 1996 (18.1% of Edmontonians) to 339,040 in 2016 (37.1% of Edmontonians) (p. 9); and
    • The number of Indigenous people living in the city (50,280) and region (76,205) has grown at about double the rate of the overall population in the past twenty years (p. 6).

    Better Educated

    “A consistently positive trend is the continuing improvement in educational attainment both in terms of high school graduation and post-secondary completion,” said Kolkman. “This trend is particularly impressive considering the extra challenges posed by the rapid growth in the number of English Language Learners in our schools,” he added.

    • For the past 15 years in which data is available, the three-year high school completion rate for the Edmonton Public School District improved by 18.4% from 57.0% in the 2000/01 school year to 75.4% in 2015/16.
    • In the Edmonton Catholic School District, the three-year completion rate improved by 24.8% from 59.7% in 2000/01 to 84.5% in the 2015/16 year.

    Economic Picture Not Great

    Kolkman noted that the economic picture in Edmonton is more negative with many of the employment and income support trends getting worse or at best stuck in neutral for the past several years:

    • Despite modest improvement toward the end of the year, the unemployment rate averaged 8.1% in 2017, a twenty-year high (p. 38).
    • Vulnerable groups are being particularly hard hit with the unemployment rate for Indigenous people averaging 13.4% in 2017 and youth unemployment averaging 14.9%. (p. 50, 51);
    • The number of people receiving Employment Insurance regular benefits peaked at a twenty year high of 27,388 in 2016, and declined only slightly to 24,894 in 2017 (p. 98);
    • The number of Edmonton households relying on Alberta Works (income support) benefits hit 27,439 in 2017, also a twenty-year high (p. 98).

    Income Inequality Significant

    While median after-tax incomes are up overall, much of this increase has gone to the highest income earners:

    • Between 1982 and 2015, the top 1% of Edmonton taxfilers have seen their after-tax incomes go up by 69.7%, after accounting for inflation, compared to only a 3.2% increase for the bottom 50% of taxfilers (p. 72);
    • There continues to be a significant income gap based on gender. In 2015, female taxfilers median after-tax was $30,580, or 63.7% of the $47,990 in after-tax income for male taxfilers (p. 75).
    • Employment earnings provide the main source of income for all family types including 72.2% of the total income for lone-parent families in 2015 (p. 77).
    • Despite recent increases in Alberta’s minimum wage, over one in five (21.5%) Edmonton workers earned below the $16.31 living wage (p. 79).

    Poverty Trends

    Tracking the Trends 2018 includes the most recently available poverty and low wage trends:

    • 135,240 people in metro Edmonton lived in poverty in 2015, 10.5% of the population (p. 87).
    • The younger a person is, the greater the likelihood they will be living in poverty. 41,580 of those living in poverty were children and youth under 18, or 15.2% of all children and youth (p. 88);
    • Government income transfers, especially refundable child benefits, are a crucial tool in lifting children and youth out of poverty. In the absence of these transfers, child poverty would have been 27.3% higher in 2015. The poverty reduction impacts of new and enhanced federal and provincial child benefits – introduced in mid-year 2016 –should lift even more children out of poverty (p. 97).

    Edmontonians Still Struggling to get Enough Food

    • Edmonton’s Food Bank served 23,181 individuals through its hamper program in March 2017, the fourth consecutive year usage was up (p. 65).

    “Timely, accurate information is critical to informed decision-making,” said Kolkman. Tracking the Trends 2018 is a one-stop resource for identifying and analyzing a broad range of social and economic trends impacting those with low and modest incomes in our community,” he concluded.

    Download: Tracking the Trends 2018

  • Tracking the Trends 2018

    The Edmonton Social Planning Council (ESPC) today released the 2018 edition of its flagship publication Tracking the Trends.  The 131-page publication provides a detailed analysis of social and economic trends in Edmonton. Information is provided about population demographics, education and employment, living costs & housing, income & wealth, poverty & government transfers, and key indicators of Edmonton’s social health.

    “Timely, accurate information is critical to informed decision-making,” said Kolkman. “Tracking the Trends 2018 is a one-stop resource for identifying and analyzing a broad range of social and economic trends impacting those with low and modest incomes in our community,” he concluded.

    Download: Tracking the Trends 2018

  • A Profile of Poverty in Edmonton: Update 2017

    The two years since ESPC published A Profile of Poverty in Edmonton have been challenging ones for the city of Edmonton and its residents.

    This report updates many of the poverty trends and challenges identified two years within the context of broader social and economic trends in our community. This profile updates the actions the City could take within its jurisdiction to help work towards eliminating poverty and in keeping with the Poverty Roadmap approved by City Council.

    This profile update provides data and analysis to answer the following questions:

    • What is the overall picture of poverty in Edmonton, and how has it changed in the past two years?
    • How does poverty vary across age, gender, and households in the city? What trends are we seeing among different population groups?
    • Who is impacted most by poverty? What population groups are at higher risk of experiencing poverty than others? (i.e., Indigenous people, recent immigrant/refugees, low income workers, women children and youth.)
    • What are the emerging trends impacting poverty in Edmonton or influencing the work on eliminating poverty?

    ESPC Documents/PUBLICATIONS/A.06.C RESEARCH UPDATES/CityOfEdmontonPovertyProfileUpdate_2017.pdf

  • fACT Sheet—Habitat for Humanity

    A Lunch and Learn Companion fACT Sheet

    Habitat for Humanity works on a housing first philosophy. Learn about housing first, Habitat for Humanity’s core values, who qualifies for a home, and how their special affordable housing model works.

    Download the Habitat for Humanity fACT Sheet today!