More than 41,000 children in Nova Scotia live in poverty

A newly released study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says more than 41,000 children in Nova Scotia live in poverty, and the numbers have been rising.

Using the latest available data from 2018, the 2020 Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Nova Scotia says the percentage of children living in low-income circumstances increased to 24.6 per cent from 24.2 per cent in 2017.

It says Nova Scotia has a slightly higher rate of child poverty than it did in 1989 when the House of Commons voted to end it by the year 2000.

The report card also says that between 1989 and 2018, child poverty rates decreased in every province and territory except Nova Scotia.

Director Christine Saulnier says the centre's recommendations change little from year to year because little has changed in way of government supports for families with children living in poverty.

Saulnier says that without significant income support investment by the province, any small gains in one year are lost in the next.

"Moreover, the pandemic likely signals that more families are worse off despite federal emergency income measures," Saulnier said in a news release.