Manitoba news: advocates want action to lower child poverty rates [Video]

Recent data on child poverty in Canada showed Manitoba led the way with the highest child poverty rate, and now advocates are calling for action to lower the number.

The latest data is from 2022 and it showed Manitoba had a child poverty rate of 27.1 per cent.

Winnipeg Centre had the highest percentage of low-income children at 41.1 per cent, while northern Manitoba had the highest total throughout the province at 54.1 per cent.

In total, 85,520 children were living in poverty in 2022, compared to just 10,560 in 2021.

Kate Kehler, the executive director of the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg, said poverty puts costs on everybody, and it doesn’t just affect those who live in poverty.

“It costs all of us, costs us in our health…They also unfortunately end up in the justice system; they end up with mental health disorders; they end up with addictions disorders. …