These tables, from the 2016 Census, use a similar Working Poor concept to what is used in the T1FF Working Poor tables, but the data are not strictly comparable.
The Working Poor population is defined here as persons who:
- Live in a census family with income below the after-tax Low Income Measure (LIM-AT)
- Have a Total Income of no less than $3,000
- Are not full or part time post-secondary students (based on self-reported status via the Census)
- Are not children (based on census family status)
- Are not parents less than 18 years of age
By contrast, the T1FF Working Poor definition identifies students as those who claimed full/part time postsecondary education deductions for themselves.
With the 2016 Census Working Poor table, as with all Census data, demographic characteristics are from 2016 and income data is taken from 2015.
The Working Poor concept does not apply to persons living in Nunavut, Yukon or NWT. Census low-income concepts are not applied in the territories and in certain areas based on census subdivision type (such as Indian reserves). The existence of substantial in-kind transfers (such as subsidized housing and First Nations band housing) and sizeable barter economies or consumption from own production (such as product from hunting, farming or fishing) could make the interpretation of low-income statistics more difficult in these situations.
Non-permanent residents and immigrants who landed between 2015 and 2016 are included in the 'Total – Immigrant status and period of immigration.' The categories for 'Non-permanent residents' and period of immigration '2015 to 2016' are not presented elsewhere in this table with income as they may not have a complete year of applicable income. The income data for the 2016 Census of Population are for the year 2015.
It is expected that the Census Working Poor numbers will be higher than the T1FF numbers. The differences between the census numbers and the T1ff numbers are due to:
- The T1FF numbers are run on 2015 and our numbers are on 2016 (higher population in 2016)
- The T1FF UDV used post-secondary education deduction as a measure of school attendance. We used school attendance status (Census numbers will thus be higher)
- Differences in weighting between Census and T1FF