This is a really important discussion. Obviously we set out to make sure we could not only ensure that middle-class Canadians were more optimistic but also that more people had the opportunity to be successful and get into a better financial situation, particularly those who were impoverished.
There are three measures that we think have made the biggest impact. One is, as you say, the Canada child benefit that lifted literally hundreds of thousands of children and of course their families in many cases out of poverty. Another is the Canada workers benefit that gives a benefit to people to get into work if they're not in work and enhances that benefit so that, as they move off social assistance, they get more value from that. Also, there is the increase in the guaranteed income supplement for single seniors.
Those three measures together were what largely added up to the 825,000 people who moved out of poverty. It's one of those things that, as we look back on what's been achieved during this first term of the Trudeau government.... We will look back and say that it's quite remarkable that, in three and a half years, we've reduced the poverty level from over 12% to about 9.5%, helping hundreds of thousands of Canadians to be in a better situation today and more optimistic for tomorrow.
It's particularly important when we think about the challenged demographics we have in this country. Getting more people into work and getting more people with the capacity to invest in themselves and their families provide for greater future prosperity for them and for our whole economy. We need people to be seeing that kind of success.