NDP Responds to Startling New Study on Northern Poverty Rates

A new report reveals major poverty for among youth living in northern Saskatchewan communities.

Released Wednesday, a report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives reveals Saskatchewan has the highest child poverty rate in Canada, with a child poverty rate of 27.1 percent. In 2023, data shows 78,000 children under the age of 18 in Saskatchewan were impoverished. Children under six years of age in Saskatchewan fare even worse, with a 30.39 percent poverty rate.

The national child poverty rate is 18.3 percent.

Northern Saskatchewan sees the most significant instances of poverty. In Prince Albert, over one in three children – 35.4 percent – live in poverty. In the north overall, 62 percent of children under the age of 18 are subject to poverty.

According to the study, child poverty rates vary dramatically depending on location. By contrast, in the southern-Saskatchewan city of Swift Current, the child poverty rate is 19.6 percent.

“What we’re seeing time and time again is the Saskatchewan government ignore the issues in northern Saskatchewan,” said MLA Jordan McPhail, who serves as Saskatchewan NDP Shadow Minister for Northern Affairs.

“I’m hoping this data will be a wake-up call to the provincial government in the budget season, and they will invest into northern communities” he said.

McPhail was born and raised in the northern Saskatchewan town of La Ronge, where he served as a town councillor for seven years. McPhail said while these statistics are troubling, they don’t come as a surprise to people of the north.

“This is something we’ve known in the north for a long time – that we struggle to make sends meet. The decisions that the Saskatchewan Party has made over the last 18 years of government have certainly not helped to make life more affordable,” said McPhail.

McPhail said he would like to see more investments into childcare spaces so parents can earn a living for their families,rather than having to stay home to care for their children. He said they’ve also pushed the government to remove PST on things like children’s clothing and groceries.

“I think that they could scrap a lot of the taxes that they’ve been adding to the Saskatchewan people due to their mismanagement of our provincial finances,” said McPhail.

Saskatchewan MLA Eric Schmalz, Minister First Nations, Métis, and Northern Affairs, was not able to provide a comment to Eagle Feather News. The Government of Saskatchewan sent a statement, which reads:

“At a time when cost-of-living pressures are affecting all Canadians, affordability challenges remain top of mind for our government. The 2025-26 provincial budget includes several initiatives to support low-income Saskatchewan residents and help people manage everyday costs.”

The statement also referenced several benefits and rebates, including an increase to the Saskatchewan Low-Income Tax Credit, the Saskatchewan Employment Incentive to help low income families with essential supports, the Saskatchewan Housing Benefit to make rent more affordable, and an increase of benefits to the Saskatchewan Income Support (SIS) and Saskatchewan Assured Income for Disability programs – according to the statement.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe stated in November that Saskatchewan is the most affordable place in Canada to live, with housing starts up 50.8 percent in the first ten months of 2025.

“Hearing they’ve put out a statement basically beating their chests and saying ‘the most affordable place to live is here in Saskatchewan,’ while people are living in poverty – over 50 percent in northern Saskatchewan – I think says that they are out of touch,” said McPhail.

“They can tout any program or rebate that they want to. With all these programs that the government says they’re trying to help people with, it’s not actually helping. It’s not doing things that are turning the poverty rate.”