OTTAWA – The government’s fiscal watchdog says a guaranteed basic income program at the federal level could cut poverty rates in Canada by up to 40 per cent.
In a new report, the parliamentary budget officer says that a Canadian family in the lowest earning group could expect to receive an average of $6,100 in annual disposable income through such a program.
Higher earners could see their income levels drop because of changes in the tax system to implement the basic income support.
This report is predicting a more modest impact on poverty rates than the PBO’s 2021 report — which said that a guaranteed basic income could cut national poverty rates almost in half.
The PBO says that reduced impact is due to the wages of lower-earning Canadians not keeping pace with the surging cost of living.
The report says introducing a federal basic income program would cost up to $107 billion in 2025, depending on the family definition used to implement the program.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 19, 2025.
