4. Ontario Deprivation Index

Beginning in fall 2007, Daily Bread Food Bank and the Caledon Institute of Social Policy teamed up to develop a “deprivation index” – a list of items considered necessary to have an above poverty-level standard of living but which poor people are unlikely to have. Through a series of surveys and focus groups, we pared down an initial list of 29 items to 10 items for the index.

Through the sponsorship of the Ontario Government, Statistics Canada conducted a survey of about 12,000 Ontario households to arrive at a baseline measure. The Ontario Deprivation Index was officially announced on December 2, 2009. It found that 12.5% of Ontario children are being raised in a poverty-level standard of living.

This section contains relevant research reports and information on Canada’s first deprivation index.

 Developing a Deprivation Index: The Research Process

This paper tells the story of the development of the Ontario Deprivation Index by the Daily Bread Food Bank and the Caledon Institute of Social Policy. A deprivation index is a list of items which are widely seen as necessary for a household to have a standard of living above the poverty level.

Testing the Validity of the Ontario Deprivation Index

This paper is a preliminary test of the validity of the Ontario Deprivation Index using the results of a Statistics Canada survey of 10,000 Ontario households. We look at the performance of the index against six variables: income, education, employment status, immigration, family type and housing tenure. A similar method for testing the validity of the Irish deprivation index was also used, although in this paper we are presenting only the most basic tests. Based on this early analysis, the Ontario Deprivation Index fully meets the tests of validity in relation to these variables.

Ontario Deprivation Index Backgrounder
This short backgrounder contains a broad overview of the Ontario Deprivation Index. The link takes you to the Ontario Government’s web site.

Ontario Deprivation Index Data Tables
Download a series of data tables for the Ontario Deprivation Index provided courtesy of Statistics Canada. The tables look at incidence of deprivation by immigrant status, region, income quintile, LICO and LIM-50.