Single people and single parents (especially single mothers) are more likely to live below the poverty line than other people. If the head of the household is under 25, a family is also more likely to live below the poverty line. But the number of low income families with two parents has gone up steadily in Canada since 1979.

How Things Changed

Today, we take it for granted that almost all children will live to become adults. But that change did not come until after World War II ended in 1945. How did it happen? It took a lot of work over a long time.

Charitable Groups
From the time of World War I, around 1915, people began to understand that children would go on dying unless important changes were made. First, private organizations tried to help. The Child Welfare Association was one such group in St. John's. It employed visiting public health nurses to give mothers free advice. The Child Welfare Association also ran a free milk station to give children fresh, pure milk. Another private group, NONIA (the Newfoundland Outport Nursing and Industrial Association), tried to earn salaries for nurses in outports by selling knitted clothing that women made.

But the problems were just too big to be solved by small groups. People began to think the government should help. Labour unions such as the Fisherman's Protective Union (FPU) and the Newfoundland Industrial Workers Association (NIWA) asked for new laws to set standards for pure foods.

Public Health
Around the same time, people became more aware that clean housing, clean water and proper sewage disposal helped to stop diseases from spreading. The city of St. John's made a new law in 1915 to make sure that new houses had water and sewer connections. The city also began to clear some streets that were filled with bad housing.

From the 1920s, people realized that a poor diet causes poor health. Scientists discovered that vitamins help keep people healthy. Doctors began to understand that some diseases only happen when people do not get enough vitamins in their food, and that people will not be healthy if they can not eat well.