Northern Market Basket Measure

Statistics Canada has produced poverty estimates for the Northwest Territories using a proposed Northern Market Basket Measure (MBM-N). Conceptually, these estimates are similar to what is produced for the provinces; however, adjustments were made to address various aspects of Northern living.

The MBM-N is based on the cost of a basket of goods (threshold) that represents a modest, basic standard of living. Anyone with a disposable income below this threshold is considered to be in poverty. Since the income needed to calculate poverty estimates is based on survey data, it is subject to sample variability. The upper and lower bounds provide a measure of the sample variability.

*Note: These bounds are based on a 95% confidence interval, meaning the true poverty value would be between
the upper and lower bound 19 out of 20 times.