Alberta gets a ‘D-‘ in poverty report card by Food Banks Canada
Posted June 3, 2026 5:58 pm.
Last Updated June 3, 2026 7:03 pm.
A ‘D-‘ is hardly a grade that would impress mom and dad, but that’s the letter grade given to Alberta in an annual poverty report card by Food Banks Canada.
This was not a surprise for shoppers who are trying to stretch their dollar at the grocery store.
“I’m just pretty careful. I think you have to be more careful today. You can’t just go buy anything you used to be able to buy,” said Elaine, a shopper that CityNews spoke to.
Myrna, another shopper, said, “Gas is going up, so is everything. Trucking is more expensive. Groceries are more expensive.”
While Drake said, “Usually, just save enough to go to like Costco and just buy a whole bunch of bulk.”
These are not the only people concerned about food prices; Alberta’s low grade is due to trouble accessing healthcare, housing affordability, and food insecurity.
The food insecurity is affecting operations at Edmonton’s Food Bank. Last month, the charity served at least 46,000 people. Looking for help to meet demands.
“We continue to break our records, so every few months the growth continues, and so that is an alarming trend cause we’d like to see some of that soften a little bit,” said Marjorie Bencz, the executive director of Edmonton’s Food Bank.
Joseph Marchand, an economics professor at the University of Alberta, said, “I can say that they are a severe grader or a harsh grader.”
Marchand says the report doesn’t show a clear picture, like age demographics. Pointing out that the report doesn’t show a good grade for the province to follow.
“Overall, the grading is a bit pessimistic again. I would like to look for a good example or have some kind of shining example of a province or a territory that could be held up for other provinces and territories to follow,” Marchand explained.
Despite having a harsh score. The report highlights ways to improve, including rent caps and poverty reduction strategies.
When it comes to the report, Quebec got the highest score with a ‘C’ and the only province to fail was New Brunswick.
