For Northern Saskatchewan, the number is even higher at six in ten – or 62 per cent – of children living in poverty.
The figures come from a shocking new study from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
“Scott Moe and the Sask. Party have forgotten about Prince Albert and forgotten about the North,” said Saskatchewan NDP Leader Carla Beck.
“Young families are struggling just to put food on the table, and Moe’s government is actively making life harder with higher power bills, more costly insurance, and taxes on the basics like kid's clothes and groceries.
“This is why people are leaving our communities. This is why our province’s population is literally shrinking for the first time in years.”
According to the study, of all regions surveyed in Saskatchewan, Prince Albert and the North ranked worst for child poverty.
The number of children living in poverty is also worse in Saskatchewan than any other province in Canada at a shocking 27.1 per cent – or over 78,000 children. Canada’s national child poverty rate is nearly ten points lower than Saskatchewan’s at 18.3 percent.
“It’s heartbreaking that the Moe government won’t use any of the tools they have at their disposal to give hard working families a much-needed break,” said Jordan McPhail, Saskatchewan NDP Shadow Minister for Northern Affairs.
“People feel that they are worse off or simply spinning their tires, not getting ahead, after 20 years of the Sask. Party.
“It’s time for change and it’s time to get this province moving forward again.”
Carla Beck’s team continues to call on the Moe government to give hard working families much-needed cost of living relief and remove the PST on children’s clothing as well as groceries, deliver rent control, and reverse course on the power bill and insurance rate hikes.
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