The Social Assistance Summaries series tracks the number of recipients of social assistance (welfare payments) in each province and territory.
In this section you will find:
Manitoba’s social assistance program (description)
Social assistance is the income program of last resort. It is intended for households who have exhausted all other means of financial support. Every province and territory has its own social assistance program(s), and no two are the same. For modelling of total incomes available to social assistance recipients, visit the Welfare in Canada report.
In Manitoba, social assistance is delivered through two programs:
- Employment and Income Assistance (EIA); and
- Manitoba Supports for Persons with Disabilities (Manitoba Supports).
Employment and Income Assistance (EIA)
EIA provides income assistance to Manitobans in need. Recipients receive financial assistance to cover basic needs, shelter costs, and other special needs. They also receive employment supports like employability assessments, personal job planning, and work incentives to assist them to move towards increased financial independence.
Within EIA, some may receive benefits under the Medical Barriers to Full Employment (MBFE) category. An individual is eligible for MBFE if they are unable to earn an income sufficient to meet the basic necessities for themselves and their dependents, due to physical or mental ill health, incapacity, or disorder for a period of more than one year.
Manitoba Supports
Manitoba Supports is a new income assistance program separate and distinct from EIA that was introduced in January 2023. It provides income support to Manitobans with severe and prolonged disabilities. Recipients receive financial assistance for basic needs, shelter, and other special needs. Recipients may also choose to access available navigation services that are tailored to the needs of persons with disabilities.
To be eligible for Manitoba Supports, an applicant must have a severe and prolonged disability. This is defined in the Disability Support Act as a “significant impairment or condition of the body or mind that is permanent or likely to be permanent.”
How many people claim social assistance?
To access data on cases and beneficiaries of social assistance in Manitoba, including disaggregated data, download the spreadsheet here.
Employment and Income Assistance (EIA)
On average, there were 32,100 cases (family units and unattached single adults) and 57,000 beneficiaries (individual claimants, their partners, and dependent children) in Manitoba’s Employment and Income Assistance program in 2023-24. After consistent increases in EIA cases and beneficiaries from 2007-08 to 2018-19, both began to decline for three years until 2021-22. In 2022-23, there was a slight increase, 1 per cent in both cases and beneficiaries. However, in 2023-24, the trend reversed again, with cases dropping by 13 per cent and beneficiaries by 9 per cent.
Within EIA, on average, 13,500 cases, or 42 per cent, and 17,200 beneficiaries, or 30 per cent, received benefits through the Medical Barriers to Full Employment (MBFE) category in 2023-24.
MBFE numbers also decreased from the previous year. On average, MBFE cases decreased by 6,300, or 32 per cent, and MBFE beneficiaries decreased by 6,900, or 29 per cent. This decrease can be partly explained by the introduction of the new Manitoba Supports program in January 2023.
Figure 1MB: Yearly cases and beneficiaries of EIA in Manitoba, 1996-97 to 2023-24
Figure 2MB: Yearly cases and beneficiaries of MBFE under EIA in Manitoba, 2020-21 to 2023-24
Manitoba Supports
Manitoba Supports was introduced in January 2023. In 2023-24, both cases and beneficiaries increased to 9,000 and 10,000, respectively.
Note that numbers for Manitoba Supports in 2022-23 are the average of the first three months of 2023, while for 2023-24 the numbers are averaged over the full fiscal year. The difference in the way data is reported limits comparability.
Figure 3MB: Yearly cases and beneficiaries of Manitoba Supports, 2022-23 to 2023-24
What proportion of the population receives social assistance?
In 2023-24, on average, 4.7 per cent of people in Manitoba under 65 received EIA, which is one in 21. This year’s proportion is the lowest in the timeline and down from 5.3 per cent in 2022-23 and 2021-22, the previous lowest point. In prior years, on average, the proportion had been at around six per cent since 1999-2000.
For Manitoba Supports, on average, this proportion was 0.8 per cent in 2023-24, which is 1 in 125 people.
Note: The total population under 65 is estimated on July 1 of the fiscal year (e.g., July 1, 2023, for 2023-24), whereas social assistance beneficiary data is a fiscal year average (April 1 to March 31).
Figure 4MB: Yearly beneficiaries of EIA and Manitoba Supports as a proportion of the under-65 Manitoba population, 1996-97 to 2023-24
Who is receiving social assistance (disaggregated data)?
This section examines disaggregated data on cases and beneficiaries by household type, and cases receiving employment income.
Household type
In 2023-24, on average, unattached singles were the majority household among EIA cases in Manitoba, representing 22,000 cases (about 70 per cent), followed by single parents, representing 7,200 (23 per cent). Single parent households made up the highest proportion of beneficiaries, representing 23,000 beneficiaries (about 43 per cent), followed by unattached singles, representing 22,000 (41 per cent).
Among those who received MBFE under EIA, unattached single households were the majority of both cases and beneficiaries, representing 11,600 (around 86 and 68 per cent, respectively), followed by single parents, representing 1,100 cases and 3,000 beneficiaries (over 8 and under 17 per cent, respectively).
Similar to MBFE, in 2023-24, unattached singles were the majority of both cases and beneficiaries of Manitoba Supports, representing 8,200 (94 and over 85 per cent, respectively). The second largest household type for cases was tied between single parents and couples without children representing 200 cases (just over 2 per cent). Single parents were the second largest household type for beneficiaries representing 600 (6.3 per cent).
Figure 5MB: Cases of EIA by household in Manitoba, 2020-21 to 2023-24
Cases
Beneficiaries
Figure 6MB: Cases of MBFE under EIA by household in Manitoba, 2020-21 to 2023-24
Cases
Beneficiaries
Figure 7MB: Cases and beneficiaries of Manitoba Supports by household, 2022-23 to 2023-24
Cases
Beneficiaries
Employment income
In Manitoba, employment income is defined as work employment and self-employment earnings by participants. Work employment earnings are earned income derived from salaried employment or wages rather than from self-employment. Self-employment earnings are earned income from independent livelihoods such as farmers, fishers, trappers, and small business operators and independent contractors.
In 2023-24, on average, about 5 per cent of EIA cases had employment income, a significant decrease from the previous year. Those receiving MBFE under EIA were less likely to have employment income at just over 3 per cent, which is a substantial increase from last year.
Those receiving Manitoba Supports, on average, around 1 per cent had employment income in 2022-23, while 10.7 per cent had employment income in 2023-24.
Figure 8MB: Percentage of EIA cases, MBFE cases under EIA, and Manitoba Supports cases with employment income in Manitoba, 2020-21 to 2023-24
Additional disaggregated data on gender and age is available for download below.
It’s important to note that while the sex distribution of EIA, MBFE under EIA, and Manitoba Supports is typically balanced between males and females, the sex of single households reveals a more pronounced gender pattern. Typically, unattached singles are predominantly male, while single parents are primarily female.
Access to data
The data on social assistance recipients in Manitoba is available for download, including:
- Total number of cases and beneficiaries;
- Percentage of beneficiaries relative to the total under-65 population;
- Cases and beneficiaries by household type;
- Beneficiaries by sex;
- Single households by sex;
- Adults by age category; and
- Percentage of cases receiving employment income.
Data notes
- Employment and Income Assistance data, including Medical Barriers to Full Employment, reflects the average number of cases and beneficiaries over the fiscal year (April 1 to March 31).
- Numbers for Manitoba Supports in 2022-23 are the average of the first three months of 2023, while for 2023-24 the numbers are averaged over the full fiscal year and will be presented in this format moving forward. The difference in the way data is reported limits comparability.
- Figures are rounded to the nearest 100, with some exceptions where they are rounded to the nearest 10.
- The numbers do not include First Nations living on reserves.
- Data for total cases and beneficiaries is from a different source than data for disaggregated cases and beneficiaries (household and sex) so there may be discrepancies between them.
- Statistics represent all welfare cases in Manitoba and combine municipal and provincial income assistance statistics where appropriate.
- Click here for more information about how the data is gathered.