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Cut Canadian Food Insecurity in Half by 2030

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Hunger is Our Priority

Almost one quarter (23%) of people in this country are living with food insecurity.


In 2024, food banks reached a somber new milestone with more than 2 million monthly visits, nearly double the rate seen only five short years ago. Over the course of those five years, people in Canada have watched their rent and mortgage costs increase, the cost-of-living skyrocket, all while wages haven’t kept pace.


The urgency of the situation cannot be overstated. People are skipping meals, taking on unsustainable debt, and stepping further away from a life of dignity.


This election is not just about politics; it is about the kind of country we want to be. It is about ensuring that every person in Canada has the opportunity to live with dignity.

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Who is hungry in Canada?

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Getting Informed

Preparing to Vote

Election Day Information

  • The election date: April 28, 2025

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What is food insecurity? 

Someone is food insecure when they cannot access or afford to buy enough of the quality food they need. Food insecurity not just about skipping meals—it affects health, well-being, and daily life.   
 
Many families stretch their budget by cutting back on food when money is tight. But this comes at a cost. Research shows that food insecurity is linked to:   

  • Higher risks of illnesses like diabetes and heart disease   
  • Increased stress, anxiety, and depression   
  • More difficulty finding and keeping a good job  

Food insecurity isn’t just about individual choices—it’s a bigger issue connected to wages, housing, and social supports. Solving it means making sure everyone can afford enough food to live a healthy life.  

There are different levels of severity when it comes to food insecurity.

  • A person may be marginally food insecure if they are worrying about running out of food each week.
  • A person may be moderately food insecure if they cannot afford many options at the store and must compromise on quality.
  • And a person may be experiencing more severe food insecurity if they are regularly skipping meals. 

Our recommendations for change

All political parties to commit to reduce food insecurity in Canada by 50% by 2030.  

  1. All political parties to commit to reduce food insecurity in Canada by 50% by 2030.

All political parties to commit to reduce food insecurity in Canada by 50% by 2030.  

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Rebuild Canada’s Social Safety Net 

  1. Ensure all federal benefits are indexed to inflation and that agreements with provincial governments explicitly forbid clawbacks of provincial social supports for new federal benefit programs like the CDB
  2. Make single adults with low incomes a priority consideration in all future poverty-reduction measures, including an expanded and modernized EI, to ensure that this population is no longer left behind.
  3. As part of this, commit to a clear timetable for when your government would bring forward EI modernization reforms.

Rebuild Canada’s Social Safety Net 

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Solve the Affordable Housing Crisis 

  1. Commit to examining the potential for a national rent assistance program, delivered in collaboration with the provinces and territories as part of the federal-provincial housing agreements
  2. Introduce new investments to build more supportive housing for people who have mental and physical health issues, particularly among populations that are marginalized or living with low incomes.
  3. Double the Canada Rental Protection Fund from $1.5 billion to $3 billion.

Solve the Affordable Housing Crisis 

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Help for Low Income Workers 

  1. Permanently broaden the EI qualifying definition of “employment” to include self-employed and precarious work.
  2. Offer improved support to workers who are currently employed and have a low income.
  3. Immediately expand the Working-While-on-Claim (WWC) provisions in EI to allow workers to retain more of their income from temporary/part-time work while on EI without losing benefits or having their income clawed back.
  4. Review and reduce the number of qualifying “hours of employment” needed (currently between 420 and 700 hours of insurable employment) to better reflect the nature of modern jobs and working situations.
  5. Extend the maximum duration of EI benefits beyond 45 weeks to 52 weeks, followed by a staggered reduction in cash benefits while retaining access to non-cash EI supports (such as training and education) so that people are not forced into our broken and grossly inadequate provincial social assistance system once their EI benefits run out.

Help for Low Income Workers 

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Address the Unique Challenges of Food Insecurity and Poverty in the North 

  1. Examine options for improving the design of the NRD.
  2. As part of the federal government’s Critical Minerals Strategy, there must be a clear focus on the development of community infrastructure in Northern communities — for example, housing, educational institutions, and broadband Internet — so that local residents benefit from these resource projects ; and the development of incentives and strategies to retain capital in the North and reduce the reliance on temporary workers.
  3. Offer additional training for remote work skills and funding for the procurement of work-from-home supplies.

Address the Unique Challenges of Food Insecurity and Poverty in the North 

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