Three factors account for the intensification of poverty in Canada: a drop in the hours of paid work by a growing number of workers; the decrease in market revenues; and the insufficiency of public income guarantee programs. Neoliberal policies are exacerbating these trends. Other policies are needed in order to 1) enable the unemployed and workers at risk to obtain paid, regular and full-time jobs; 2) increase the participation rate of women in the active population; 3) recognize the value of women's unpaid labour; and 4) overhaul social policy in terms of the principles of universal social insurance.