‘Still work to be done’: Manitoba sees better grade in poverty report card, but advocate says more can be improved

Food Banks Canada released its annual poverty report card, which shows how Manitoba is addressing food insecurity.

Manitoba is one of the top provinces on an annual report card that focuses on poverty and food insecurity, but changes are still needed to ensure more Manitobans are receiving the supports they need, according to one advocate.

Food Banks Canada released the 2026 Poverty Report Cards Monday, which highlights how people are feeling about poverty, how much income is being spent on housing, the standard of living and government policies that impact poverty and food insecurity.

This year’s report ranked Canada at a D+, up slightly from the D grade in 2025.

The report said starting the Grocery and Essentials Benefit, expanding dental care and improving the Canada Child Benefit all helped increase Canada’s grade.

Looking at the provincial breakdown, Manitoba had the second highest grade with a C-, only sitting behind Quebec, which received a C grade.

Manitoba’s grades have improved over the last two years, as in 2024 the province sat at a D-.

“There’s something that’s going on in terms of dialogue that we’re having as a province, but also nationally, that’s made some successes in terms of different policy initiatives being moved forward,” said Meaghan Erbus, the vice president of advocacy and stakeholder relations for Harvest Manitoba.

“What’s not a success, it’s a C. That’s not a win. There’s still work to be done. Food banks are still seeing high demand and that hasn’t changed over the years. So there’s still a lot of work to be done.”

The report notes eliminating the PST on groceries and removing childcare fees for low-income Manitobans are steps that were taken by the provincial government that helped improve the overall grade.

But it says increasing Employment and Income Assistance rates is one step that needs to happen to help “the province’s most vulnerable households.”

“The majority of folks that are accessing our services are accessing employment and income assistance,” said Erbus.

There have also been more people with full-time employment accessing food banks, Erbus said, which is a trend that has been happening year after year.

“Affordability is huge. People aren’t able to keep pace, even if they do have jobs.”

Most of Manitoba’s grades improved, however, there were still four categories where the province was graded an F – access to health care, rates aren’t high enough for those receiving government support, the poverty rate, and the food insecurity rate.

The report calls for five recommendations that would help improve the province’s report card – improving rental assistance, expanding earnings exemptions and strengthening the Rewarding Work Allowance, developing a youth employment and training strategy, better addressing food insecurity in the north, and creating a food-security strategy.

Erbus said a food-security strategy would go a long way to helping more Manitobans and reducing poverty.

“That’s an opportunity for us to talk to all different sectors around what food security means to Manitoba and how we can make a change. We sometimes work in silos; we advocate with the same coalitions, but this is an opportunity for us to talk to everybody that has access to food and different mechanisms that could make a difference.”

Speaking Monday, Nahanni Fontaine, the minister of families, said the government will review the recommendations in the report, adding there are committees currently working on addressing poverty in the province.

“We take these issues seriously and that we’re doing the work, again, to bring Manitoba to a place where we can all be proud and where every single citizen, child, family, seniors have the supports and the resources that they need to live a good life. We want Manitobans to be able to have a good life,” said Fontaine.

The entire report can be read online.