Child poverty rate in Windsor West listed as 15th highest in Canada

Windsor West has one of the highest child poverty rates in Canada, according to a new report released by an anti-poverty advocacy group.

The Campaign 2000 report tracked child poverty rates in all 338 federal ridings.

Windsor West is listed at 15th in the country.

The report says 32.1 per cent of children under the age of 17 in Windsor West are living in poverty.

Windsor-Tecumseh is at 22.7 per cent and the rate is 7.7 per cent in Essex.

The federal Liberals have promised to create a poverty reduction strategy before next year's federal election, and Campaign 2000 says it hopes its report will help prod the government to keep that promise.

Officials with the United Way/Centraide Windsor-Essex County say they are aware of what’s happening in local neighbourhoods, particularly in Windsor West.

CEO Lorraine Goddard says the information is helpful as organizations like hers come to together to address the issues.

“People who live in poverty have poor health outcomes. That affects all taxpayers,” says Goddard.

Windsor West New Democrat MP Brian Masse is calling on the Liberal government to release the Community Benefits Fund from the Gordie Howe Bridge Project immediately, to help low income residents.

“Sandwich Towne is literally surrounded by billions of dollars of infrastructure, investment, and crown corporations that receive, or continue to receive, government funding and support. In fact, everyone is getting rich, except for the people that live there,” says Masse.

“Being 15th on the list of Child Poverty by Federal Ridings by Campaign 2000 should signal a need that without immediate action, residents in Sandwich Towne are only going to fall more behind,” adds Masse.

The latest census found that 17 per cent of children 17 and under were living in low income, or about 1.2 million children overall.

Campaign 2000 is urging Ottawa to cut that number in half over the next five years.

Their report says the ridings with the highest child poverty rates are home to large numbers visible minorities and recent immigrants, lone parent families and Indigenous Peoples.

Topping the list is the northern Manitoba riding of Churchill-Keewatinook Aski where 64.2 per cent of the children reportedly live in poverty.

Quebec, meanwhile, had nine of the 10 ridings with the lowest levels of child poverty, ranging from 4.1 to 6.3 per cent.

-with files from The Canadian Press