Poverty has a price tag for all Canadians.

Ø  Poverty has a significant cost for governments. The federal and Ontario government are losing at least $10.4 billion to $13.1 billion a year due to poverty.

Ø  Poverty has a cost for every household in Ontario. In real terms, poverty costs every household in the province from $2,299 to $2,895 every year.

Ø  Poverty has a very significant total economic cost in Ontario. The total cost of poverty in Ontario is equal to 5.5 to 6.6 per cent of Ontario’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

Ø  The remedial costs of poverty related to health care and crime are substantial. In Ontario, poverty-induced costs related to health care have an annual public cost of $2.9 billion.

Ø  The annual cost of child or intergenerational poverty is very high. If child poverty were eliminated, the extra income tax revenues nationally would be between $3.1 billion and $3.8 billion.

Ø  Opportunity costs or lost productivity due to poverty has a great economic cost. Federal and provincial governments across Canada lose between $8.6 billion and $13 billion in income tax revenue to poverty every year.