---
title: "BC Greens announce plan to raise income assistance to the poverty line"
description: "The BC Green Party published a poverty reduction platform on October 6, proposing to raise provincial income and disability assistance rates to match the market-basket poverty line and index them to inflation."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/bc/provincial-2026/news/bc-greens-poverty-assistance-plan-october-2026"
last_updated: "2026-10-10T04:06:56.670Z"
---

The [BC Green Party](/bc/provincial-2026/parties/bc-green-party) published a poverty reduction platform on October 6, 2026, at an event in Victoria. Party leader [Emily Lowan](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/emily-lowan) announced the plan, which focuses on provincial income and disability assistance rates.

## What the party proposes

The announcement calls for raising social and disability assistance rates to match the market-basket poverty line and indexing those rates to inflation so they increase with costs over time. The party also says it would remove clawbacks, meaning people on assistance could earn income without losing benefits, and create easier access to programs by removing what it describes as intrusive eligibility checks.

The plan also includes a targeted basic income for young people who have aged out of government care. The party says this income would equal the poverty line until the person turns 25.

Other proposals include an Indigenous-specific poverty elimination plan, funding for Indigenous-led services covering reintegration, addiction support, and childcare, and reduced barriers for non-profit service providers.

## The party's figures

According to the BC Green Party's announcement, a single person receiving disability assistance in British Columbia currently receives $1,483.50 per month. The party puts the market-basket poverty line at $2,480 per month, which it says leaves people on disability assistance $997 below the poverty line.

Lowan is quoted in the announcement as saying: "The social and disability assistance rates are nearly $1000 below the poverty line, leaving vulnerable people in an even worse situation."

The party says one in 16 British Columbians lives in deep poverty and that 50,000 children are in deep poverty. It puts the cost of poverty to the provincial government at between $15.9 billion and $22 billion in 2026, which it says is 3.4% to 4.7% of provincial GDP.

These figures come from the party's own materials. voche.me has not independently verified them.

## What voters can do

This is a platform announcement ahead of the October 24 vote. Advance voting runs October 16 to 21. You can compare what each party has announced on income support and social policy using the party pages on this site.

## Sitemap

See the full [sitemap](/bc/provincial-2026/sitemap.md) for all pages.