What do you know about poverty. This quiz may surprise you.

Poverty Mini Quiz

1.What are the chances that you could experience poverty in your lifetime?
a) 1 in 8 b) 1 in 4 c) 1 in 3 d) 1 in 2
The Correct Answer is: c) 1 in 3

The Economic Council of Canada estimates that one in three Canadians will experience poverty at some point in their working careers.


2. According to Statistics Canada Low-Income Cut Offs, how many Canadians were considered poor in 2006?
a) 956,000 b) 1,567,000 c) 4,941,000 d) 10,676,000
The Correct Answer is: c) 4,941,000

That is 17% of Canada's total population. In 2006, 2.1 million workers across Canada - full and part-time - were low wage workers earning less than $10/hour.

Almost 2 out of every 5 jobs - 37% - are considered "precarious", that is part-time, temporary, contract or self-employed.

Income is so inadequate to providing the basic necessities of life that in 2007, 720,230 people in Canada used food banks, including 280,900 children.


3. According to Statistics Canada Low-Income Cut Offs, what percentage of Canadian children (under 18) were considered poor in 2006?
a) 11.7% b) 15.3% c) 21.0% d) 24.3%
The Correct Answer is: a) 11.7%

At 11.7% the child poverty rate is exactly the same as it was in 1989. 1 in 8 children in Canada - 788,000 - live in poverty when income is measured after income taxes. Before income taxes, 1 in 6 or 1.13 million children live in poverty.

41% of children living in poverty live in families with at least one income earner working full-time all year.

The risk of poverty is not the same for all children. In families that face systemic discrimination before-tax child poverty rates are as high as 1 in 2 children.


4. What percentage of unattached women live in poverty?
a) 44.4% b) 25.8% c) 36.5% d)57.4%
The Correct Answer is: 44.4%

Unequal wage rates between the sexes and increasing need for a two-income household contributes to 44.4% of all unattached women living in poverty compared to 34% of men. Again among single parent families, 56.8% of those headed by mothers are poor, while 30.7% of those headed by fathers live in poverty.


5. How prevalent is welfare fraud in a large province like Ontario as a percentage of total welfare budgets?
a) 2 - 4% b) 5 - 8% c) 10 - 12% d) 20 - 28%
The Correct Answer is: a) 2 - 4%

A study conducted by a national auditing firm estimated fraud to be in the range of 2.59 - 3.66% of the Ontario welfare budget.


6. 358, the world`s richest, people have the combined wealth of how many of the world`s poorest people?
a) 400,000 b) 1,500,000 c) 500,000,000 d) 2,300,000,000
The Correct Answer is: d) 2,300,000,000

It would take the combined wealth of 2.3 billion of the globe`s poorest individuals to equal the combined wealth of the globe`s 358 richest. That means these super-rich 358 people control almost half of the world's wealth.

In Canada, the gap between the incomes of low income families and well-off families has continued to widen. For every $1 earned by the poorest 10% of families with children, the richest 10% earned $14 in 2004. Clearly the benefits of a strong Canadian economy have not been evenly distributed among Canadian families and income inequality is growing. Source: CCSD using SLID Masterfile, 1993-2004.


7. How much does it cost to send a letter to the federal government to share your concerns about poverty?
a) 45 cents b) 75 cents c) $1.45 d) Nothing
The Correct Answer is: d) Nothing

That's right, you can mail a letter to the House of Commons postage free! To share your concerns write:
House of Commons, Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6


Supplement: Child and Family Poverty in Ontario
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