Chronic illness is currently the number one cause of death in Canada and the largest cost to
our increasingly unsustainable healthcare system. Unfortunately, the massive fiscal and
social cost of chronic illness is only expected to get worse as the Canadian population ages.
Economists, researchers and politicians across Canada have suggested that novel
approaches to health and wellness are required to reduce the rate of chronic illness in
Canadian populations. One of these novel approaches is alleviating poverty through a
guaranteed Annual Income (GAI).
For over forty years, the concept of a guaranteed annual income has been part of
welfare discussions in Canada. Canadian research has suggested that a guaranteed income
can reduce the cost of healthcare by addressing income security and poverty as upstream
determinant of health. By manipulating extracted data from the Canadian Community
Health Survey, this study also provides evidence that a guaranteed income is an effective
healthcare innovation that warrants further research. This study concludes that a GAI
policy is worth investigating as it can help alleviate poverty and the burden of chronic
illness in Canada.