Introduction

Poverty is a foundational determinant of health, shaping exposure to risk, access to health protective resources, and opportunities for wellbeing across the life course. The Government of Canada defines poverty as “the condition of a person who is deprived of the resources, choices, and power necessary to acquire and maintain a basic level of living standards and to facilitate integration and participation in society.”¹ The definition underscores that poverty extends beyond income insufficiency to include barriers to meeting basic needs, social inclusion, and full participation in daily life, factors that are closely linked to physical, mental, and social health outcomes.¹

Poverty is closely linked to the social determinants of health and both influences, and is influenced by, factors such as housing, education, employment, food security, and access to social supports. Poverty can limit access to these determinants – for example, low income may restrict housing options, increase food insecurity, or limit access to education and job training. At the same time, these social determinants also shape a person’s likelihood of experiencing poverty. Unstable employment, limited education, or inadequate social supports can reduce earning potential and increase financial vulnerability. Over time, these interacting factors affect physical and mental health and contribute to avoidable and unfair differences in health outcomes across populations.² As a result, poverty plays a central role in creating and maintaining health inequities.²

For public health, this means that addressing poverty requires looking beyond individual circumstances to the broader, social, economic, and policy conditions that shape people’s lives. This chapter provides an overview of how poverty is defined and measured, explores the key factors that influence it, and outlines how poverty reduction aligns with the Ontario Public Health Standards (OPHS) and broader provincial and national initiatives. As the first in a series of chapter on poverty, it establishes a shared foundation for understanding poverty as a public health issue. Subsequent chapters will explore local patterns of poverty, populations facing higher risk, geographic and socioeconomic variation, links between poverty and health outcomes, and evidence-informed actions to reduce poverty through public health and community partnerships.

Read the full chapter at the link below.