Basic Income in Canada in the Twenty-First Century (the 00s and 10s)

Canada’s poverty rate began a steady descent in 2000 despite slower economic growth, although concerns about precarious employment grew. New research from Dauphin suggested health and education benefits from a negative income tax as well as social interaction effects on labour force participation. Successive policy initiatives under the National Child Benefit culminated in the Canada Child Benefit to support lower-income families. A basic income pilot project in Ontario was discontinued without yielding any results, while promising microsimulation research on the impacts of a basic income emerged. The Poverty Reduction Act was passed to declare the Market Basket Measure as the official poverty measure, establish a national advisory council and set ambitious poverty targets that will require a more comprehensive approach to income support along the lines of a basic income.