New Brunswick is the poorest province in Canada and to put that into perspective, it’s also one of the richest. The median income per capita in New Brunswick is $26,000 while the national average is $48,500. So how can a province so rich be so poor? There are many reasons such as: having a large number of very low-income people and a small number of high-income individuals; low wages among both employers and workers; an increasing population that has done poorly in education; local industries being left behind or purposeless jobs that have no connection to industry changing.
New Brunswick is the poorest province of all the provinces
Newfoundland is a good example of how this has impacted communities since they have many very low-income people and few high-income individuals. Just over 10% of Newfoundland’s population lives below the poverty line; and in the rural areas, 40% earn less than $15,000 per year. In comparison, in New Brunswick 25% live below the poverty line (including children) and 70% earn less than $15k per year. Poverty rates on the north coast are similar to Newfoundland’s at 16%. High levels of persistent unemployment and a lack of jobs have contributed to many people living in poverty.
New Brunswick’s median income per capita is $26,000 while the national average is $48,500.
The large number of people living below the poverty line causes huge social problems. Those living in poor rural areas have much less opportunity to get away from their current situation due to a lack of education as well as employment opportunities. With an increasing population that has done poorly in education you end up with very low-income people. The report says that “one in three New Brunswickers of working-age has less than a high school education.” In the rural areas and even some urban areas, this number is much larger. This means that people who live here can’t go to college or university for further education. If a person receives a poor education, it becomes harder for them to get better jobs to lift themselves out of poverty and become more financially stable.
New Brunswick is one of the richest places in the world, but it has great income equality. The province not only has very low incomes but it also has very high ones (great income inequality).
