June 9, 2026 — OTTAWA, ON
Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami today launched the Inuit Nunangat Poverty Reduction Strategy, an Inuit-led roadmap to reduce poverty, strengthen self-determination, and close longstanding socioeconomic gaps between Inuit and non-Indigenous Canadians.
The Strategy was informed by years of engagement with Inuit communities, and led by Inuit across Inuit Nunangat. It comes at a time when affordability has become one of the defining national issues facing Canadians. While households across the country are feeling the impacts of rising costs, Inuit Nunangat remains at the forefront of Canada’s affordability crisis, where high living costs, overcrowded housing, food insecurity, limited infrastructure, and barriers to economic opportunity continue to drive poverty rates far above the national average.
To inform this work, ITK developed the Inuit Nunangat Market Basket Measure, the first poverty indicator tailored specifically to Inuit Nunangat.
ITK has also released its Nutrition North Canada Framework, which offers Inuit-led recommendations on how to transform the federal program and make it more responsive to the needs of Inuit communities.
June 9, 2026 — Ottawa, Ontario —Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami today launched the Inuit Nunangat Poverty Reduction Strategy, an Inuit-led roadmap to reduce poverty, strengthen Inuit self-determination, and close longstanding socioeconomic gaps between Inuit and non-Indigenous Canadians.
As part of this work, ITK is calling for measures to improve Inuit participation in the economy, address the extreme cost of living in the Inuit homeland and adequately invest in Inuit-centred social services. These include:
- An income-tested refundable tax credit for low-income residents of Inuit Nunangat. The median after-tax income for Inuit in the region is $32,000 compared to $100,000 for non-Inuit in Inuit Nunangat.
- Transformation of Nutrition North Canada to enable flexible, direct financial support mechanisms to empower individuals and families, as well as measures to directly address the cost of food, including a redesigned food subsidy.
- Finalize a long-term program to replace the interim Inuit Child First Initiative as a preventative measure to ensure that Inuit children have access to the same opportunities as other children in Canada.
The Inuit Nunangat Poverty Reduction Strategy was informed by years of engagement with Inuit across Inuit Nunangat. It comes at a time when affordability has become one of the defining national issues. Inuit in Inuit Nunangat are disproportionately impacted by the affordability crisis both in the region and in Canada. High living costs, overcrowded housing, food insecurity, limited infrastructure, and barriers to economic opportunity continue to drive poverty rates far above the national average.
In 2023, 41 per cent of families in Inuit Nunangat had incomes below the poverty line, while for Canadians overall it was 11.1 per cent. A new tool, the Inuit Nunangat Market Basket Measure, released in tandem with the Strategy, was developed to measure the true extent of poverty in Inuit Nunangat.
“For Inuit, living free from poverty means our basic needs are met, our communities are strong, and our people are empowered to determine our own futures,” said Natan Obed, President of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami. “At a time when affordability is top of mind across Canada, this Strategy is a call to work together to dismantle systemic barriers that are rooted in colonialism and perpetuated by decades of underinvestment and invest in Inuit-led solutions that create lasting change.”
With renewed national interest in Arctic development and sovereignty, the Strategy makes clear that investing in poverty reduction in Inuit Nunangat is also an investment in resilient northern communities, inclusive economic growth, and Canada’s future. This Strategy will help ensure that Canada is not creating two different standards for people working in Inuit Nunangat versus Inuit who live there.
About Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami
Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami is the national democratic Inuit representative organization whose mandate is determined by Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, Makivvik, and Nunatsiavut Government.
