RU R A L D E V E LO PM E N T I N S T I T U T E K N OW L E D G E B R I E F FA L L 2016

KNOWLEDGE BRIEF

Poverty Reduction Part I: What is Poverty Reduction?
Identifying Strategies & Initiatives in Rural Communities

INTRODUCTION
DEFINING & MEASURING POVERTY
Canada currently has no standard definition for
poverty. This is in part a reflection of the fact that
poverty is a complex social issue, and defining it
is not straightforward. It is also reflective of the
subjective nature of poverty. Although poverty is
in the most general sense a lack of necessities, our
individual understanding of what is necessary may
be determined by what is possible in a given place
and time, or it may be based on social consensus or
past experience.1,2
There is no standard measure of poverty either. In
Canada, low income measures (see text box) are
frequently used as proxies for poverty measures.
Though none of these measures provide a complete
picture of poverty, cumulatively they provide an
understanding of the occurrence of low income in
Canada over time.3 Additionally, they are beneficial
for providing meaningful comparisons between
places.4 However, one benefit of relying on relative
definitions of poverty and diverse measures or
indicators is that this allows each community the
ability to define poverty at the local level and the
flexibility to measure dimensions of poverty that
may be more prevalent locally.5

LOW INCOME MEASURES
Statistics Canada provides three different measures
of low income. The Low Income Cut-Offs (LICOs)
are well established and widely recognized, having
been published since 1967. They define the income
thresholds at which families would spend a greater
share of income on basic necessities such as food,
shelter and clothing than the average family.⁶
Currently, LICOs are calculated for seven family sizes
and five population sizes. For small communities,
the LICOs are lower due to expected lower housing
costs. However, researchers have observed that
this may not adequately reflect the rural landscape,
where some rural communities may have
experienced rapid housing market fluctuations.7,8
Before- and after-tax Low Income Measures (LIMs)
have been published since 1991, and as they are
based only on data on household incomes across
the country, they are the preferred measure for
international comparisons.9 The Market Basket
Measure (MBM) accounts for regional differences in
the cost of living by defining low income relative to
the cost of a set “basket” of goods and services for a
reference family of two adults and two children.10

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KNOWLEDGE BRIEF

P OV E R T Y R E D U C T I O N PA R T I

APPROACHES TO POVERTY REDUCTION
To begin with, it is useful to clarify the difference
between poverty alleviation – approaches
focused on short-term remedies that mitigate
the immediate effects of poverty, and poverty
reduction – approaches that focus on sustainable
solutions that build capacity within communities
and reduce reliance on social services in the longterm.11
Approaches to poverty reduction are as diverse
as definitions of poverty. One way of categorizing
approaches to poverty reduction is by drawing
attention to assumptions about the origins or
sources of poverty. Most poverty researchers
will at minimum distinguish between theories
that identify the origins of poverty in individual
deficiencies and those that suggest that poverty
is caused by systemic social conditions.12 A more
detailed analysis suggests there are five theoretical
approaches to poverty reduction: individual,
cultural, political-economic, geographic, and
cumulative/cyclical.13 Building on the components
of the other theories, the final theory sees
individuals and their communities within complex
spirals of opportunities and problems that create
cumulative challenges as opportunities are closed
or problems begin to dominate, demanding
complex, multi-faceted responses.14 What is
important to take away from the literature is that
poverty is a complex issue and there is now a wellestablished trend in the literature that recommends
a comprehensive response to addressing poverty
that relies on partnerships built across multiple
sectors.15-18

POVERTY REDUCTION CAMPAIGNS –
BRITISH COLUMBIA & BEYOND
Given that poverty reduction is an essential concern
within British Columbia and Canada, a number of
organizations have turned attention to coordinating
poverty reduction efforts and providing resources
and support to poverty reduction work in
communities of all sizes. Table 1 summarizes a few
of the most significant campaigns and resources.

POVERTY REDUCTION IN RURAL
BRITISH COLUMBIA
Although much research is available about poverty
and poverty reduction for urban places, researchers

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Rural Development In s t i t u t e K N OW L E D G E B R I E F Fa ll 2 0 1 6

recognize that “knowledge about the dynamics,
experiences, and complex underpinnings of rural
poverty is more limited”19 and rural poverty has not
received adequate attention within Canada’s policy
agenda.20 This is despite the fact that rural and
small town places are experiencing new pressures
that impact low income and at risk households,
resulting from significant and accelerated social and
economic changes that have been occurring since
the early 1980s.21 These impacts are even more
significant for rural economies that are resourcebased22 or communities reliant on resort tourism.23
Many municipalities are turning to community
or neighbourhood level interventions to address
poverty24 and there are rural examples. The
Revelstoke Poverty Reduction Strategy is unique in
the Canadian context as it is rare for a community
of this size to develop a comprehensive, multisectoral strategy. Funded with the support of the
Columbia Basin Trust, the strategy first analyzes a
number of core poverty indicators (such as LIM,
MBM, food bank usage, and core housing need) as
well as community affordability, and calculating a
living wage rate for a number of different reference
families. The report also includes a discussion of the
costs of poverty in the community and concludes
with a series of goals and recommended actions.25
In Trail, BC, the Greater Trail Community Skills Centre
recently participated in the Canadian Community
Economic Development Network’s (CCEDNet) PlaceBased Poverty Reduction (PBPR) initiative, focused
on evaluating how participating organizations
track the effectiveness of their socio-economic
impacts. The Skills Centre used the Social Return
on Investment (SROI) approach to measure the
impacts of the Right Stuff program, using monetary
equivalencies to demonstrate the substantial
impact this youth employment initiative has had on
youth poverty in the community.26
Researchers recently completed a pilot study of
rural poverty in McBride, BC. The pilot project uses
a thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with key
community stakeholders to explore the key triggers
of rural poverty and the strategies and barriers to
addressing it within the infrastructure and service
context unique to rural settings.27

Table 1: Highlighted Poverty Reduction Campaigns & Resources
Organization

Project

Details

Link

Tamarack Institute

Vibrant
Communities
Canada: Cities
Reducing Poverty

Vibrant Communities is a learning
vibrantcommunities.ca
community and collective impact
movement focused on reducing poverty
in Canadian cities.

BC Poverty
Reduction
Coalition

BC Poverty
Reduction Coalition

Coalition focused on a campaign
aimed at establishing a comprehensive,
legislated poverty reduction plan at the
provincial level.

bcpovertyreduction.ca

First Call BC
Living Wage for
Child and Youth
Families Campaign
Advocacy Coalition

The Living Wage for Families Campaign
certifies employers across BC who
commit to paying their employees
a living wage. The campaign also
calculates the living wage rate for
Metro Vancouver and supports other
communities across BC to calculate
their local living wage using the same
methodology.

livingwageforfamilies.ca

Caledon Institute
of Social Policy

Canada Social
The Canada Social Report provides a
Report: Poverty
comparative summary of all poverty
Reduction Strategies reduction strategies at the provincial/
territorial level. No strategy is in place
in BC.

canadasocialreport.ca
/PovertyReductionStrategies/

Canada Without
Poverty and
Citizens for Public
Justice

Dignity for All
Campaign

www.cwp-csp.ca

Based on the results of six policy
summits and using a human rights
framework, the Dignity for All Campaign
has prepared a national anti-poverty
plan as a call to action to the federal
government.

KNOWLEDGE BRIEF

W H AT I S P OV E R T Y R E D U C T I O N ? I D E N T I F Y I N G S T R AT E G I E S & I N I T I AT I V E S I N RU R A L COMMU N I T I E S

Ru ral D e v e l op m e n t I n stitu te K N O W L E D G E B R I E F Fall 2 0 16

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P OV E R T Y R E D U C T I O N PA R T I: W H AT I S P OV E R T Y R E D U C T I O N? I D E N T I F Y I N G S T R AT E G I E S & I N I T I AT I V E S I N RU R A L COMMU N I T I E S

REFERENCES & RESOURCES
1.

Statistics Canada, “Low Income Lines, 2013-2014:
Update” (Statistics Canada, Income Statistics Division,
2015), http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/201/301/weekly_
acquisition_lists/2015/w15-51-F-E.html/collections/
collection_2015/statcan/75f0002m2015002-eng.pdf.

2.

Ted K. Bradshaw, “Theories of Poverty and Anti-Poverty
Programs in Community Development,” Community
Development 38, no. 1 (March 1, 2007): 7–25,

16. Brian Reid, Mark Cabaj, and Louise Kearney,
“Convening a Comprehensive, Multi-Sector
Effort to Reduce Poverty: A Primer 2nd Edition”
(Waterloo, ON: Tamarack Institute, 2013), http://
www.tamarackcommunity.ca/library/conveninga-comprehensive-multi-sector-effort-to-reducepoverty.
17. James A. Richardson and Jonathan K. London,
“Strategies and Lessons for Reducing Persistent
Rural Poverty: A Social Justice Approach to Funding
Rural Community Transformation,” Community
Development 38, no. 1 (March 1, 2007): 92–107,

3.

Statistics Canada, “Low Income Lines,
2013-2014.”

4.

Statistics Canada, “Low Income Lines,
2013-2014.”

5.

Bradshaw, 2007.

19. Ryser, Schwamborn, and Halseth, 2012.

6.

Statistics Canada, “Low Income Lines, 2013-2014.”

7.

Laura Ryser, Julia Schwamborn, and Greg Halseth,
“Exploring Rural Poverty: Pilot Project Summary Report”
(Community Development Institute, University of
Northern British Columbia, March 13, 2012), 8, http://
www.unbc.ca/sites/default/files/assets/community_
development_institute/research/exploring_rural_
poverty_report_march_9_2012.pdf.

20. Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and
Foresty, “Beyond Freefall: Halting Rural Poverty”
(Ottawa, ON: Government of Canada, 2008), http://
www.parl.gc.ca/content/sen/committee/392/agri/
rep/rep09jun08-e.pdf.

8.

9.

Greg Halseth and Laura Ryser, “A Primer For
Understanding Issues Around Rural Poverty” (Prince
George, BC: Community Development Institute,
University of Northern British Columbia, September
2010), http://www.unbc.ca/sites/default/files/assets/
community_development_institute/publications/a_
primer_for_understanding_issues_around_rural_
poverty.pdf.
Statistics Canada, “Low Income Lines, 2013-2014.”

10. Statistics Canada, “Low Income Lines, 2013-2014.”
11. Brock Carlton and Paul Born, “10 - A Guide to Cities
Reducing Poverty” (Tamarack Institute, 2016), 11.

18. Bradshaw, 2007.

21. Ryser, Schwamborn, and Halseth, 2012.
22.

Ryser, Schwamborn, and Halseth, 2012.

23. Sanjay K. Nepal and Tazim B. Jamal, “Resort-Induced
Changes in Small Mountain Communities in
British Columbia, Canada,” Mountain Research and
Development 31, no. 2 (May 1, 2011): 89–101,
24. Carlton and Born, 2016.
25. Jill Zacharias and Mike Brown, “Revelstoke
Community Poverty Reduction Strategy:
Final Report” (Revelstoke Community Social
Development Committee, June 2012), http://www.
revelstokesocialdevelopment.org/wp-content/
uploads/2013/04/Rev-Poverty-Strategy.pdf.

13. Bradshaw, 2007.

26. Paul Chamberlain, “Place-Based Poverty Reduction
Initiative: How Community Economic Development
Is Reducing Poverty in Canada and How It Could
Be Doing More” (Victoria, BC: The Canadian CED
Network, 2008).

14. Bradshaw, 2007.

27. Ryser, Schwamborn, and Halseth, 2012.

12. Bradshaw, “Theories of Poverty and Anti-Poverty
Programs in Community Development.”

15. Garry Loewen, “A Compendium of Poverty
Reduction Strategies and Frameworks” (Tamarack
Institute), accessed August 18, 2016, http://www.
tamarackcommunity.ca/library/compendium-ofpoverty-reduction-strategies-and-frameworks.

The Columbia Basin Rural Development Institute, at Selkirk College, is a regional research centre with a
mandate to support informed decision-making by Columbia Basin-Boundary communities through the
provision of information, applied research and related outreach and extension support.

www.cbrdi.ca

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