Poverty Dynamics in Canadian Communities: A Place-Based Approach By Mengisteab Chokie Department of Agricultural Economics University of Saskatchewan 51 Campus Drive Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A8 CANADA and Mark D. Partridge (contact author) * Canada Research Chair in the New Rural Economy Professor of Agricultural Economics University of Saskatchewan 51 Campus Drive Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A8 CANADA Phone: 306-966-4037, Fax: 306-966-8413 Email: mark.partridge@usask.ca February 25, 2006 Abstract: Canadian poverty rates have persisted at disappointingly high levels despite almost 15 years of continuous prosperity. This problem is exacerbated because some communities and neighbourhoods having exceedingly high poverty including very high rates for vulnerable demographic groups such as aboriginals and recent immigrants. We investigate low-income rates (poverty rates) for over 2,400 Canadian communities over the 1981-2001 period. By focussing on communities, we fill a void in the related Canadian literature which tends to examine individuals or more aggregate measures such as provinces. Our approach allows us to assess the role of place-based economic development policies versus those based on demographic characteristics. Particular attention is given to communities with different shares of aboriginals and recent immigrants. One novel feature is our analysis of both “short-term” and “long-term” causes of differential community poverty rates. The results suggest that community poverty rates are more affected by initial economic conditions in the short-term, with certain demographic factors becoming relatively more important in the long-run. The “good” news is that communities with greater shares of aboriginals and recent immigrants appear to experience higher poverty only in the near-term. We thank Ray Bollman of Statistics Canada for his help and encouragement of this research. Likewise, we appreciate Rose Olfert and Jamie Partridge for their helpful comments.