Food insecurity is generally defined as a situation that exists when people lack secure access to sufficient amounts of safe and nutritious food. In recent years, rates of household food insecurity have risen in Canada; the situation is disproportionately worse in the North than elsewhere in the country, with rates of household food insecurity reaching 21.8% in the Yukon, 34.2% in the Northwest Territories and 58.1%, in Nunavut, according to Statistics Canada data for 2023.
Among Northerners, Indigenous peoples are particularly at risk of being food insecure. The high rates of food insecurity among northern and Indigenous populations can be explained by several factors, such as the relative remoteness and isolation of their communities, financial hardship and socio-economic inequities, the legacy of colonial policies, climate change, and environmental dispossession and contamination. Food insecurity has severe consequences for health and well-being; for instance, it has been linked to malnutrition, infections, chronic diseases, obesity, distress, social exclusion, depression and suicidal ideation.
By providing a subsidy to eligible retailers, suppliers and local producers in remote and isolated communities, Nutrition North Canada, a federal food subsidy program, targets one cause of food insecurity: the high cost of nutritious food in the North. Introduced in 2011, the program has been criticized over the years, with critics noting that the cost of nutritious food in the North remains too high for too many families. As of March 2021, the average cost of a healthy diet to feed a family of four in the North was $419.11 per week (down by 1.73%, or $7.37, since the program’s inception in 2011). Over the years, the federal government has made significant changes to address program shortcomings.
Local, regional, provincial and territorial initiatives have also been implemented to address food insecurity in the North. These include a wide range of measures, from culturally appropriate food guides to comprehensive poverty-reduction initiatives. Communities have their own solutions, from food banks and soup kitchens to hunting and harvesting support programs. In 2021, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami – a national organization that advocates for the rights and interests of Inuit in Canada – released its Inuit Nunangat Food Security Strategy to address the problem.
Food insecurity is a serious public health issue that has worsened in recent years. To reduce food insecurity in the North, the Government of Canada and its partners will need to address its social, economic and environmental roots.
Read the full text of the HillStudy: Food Insecurity in Northern Canada: An Overview
By Olivier Leblanc-Laurendeau, Library of Parliament
Categories: Economics and finance, Executive summary, Government, Parliament and politics, Health and safety, Indigenous affairs