< Back to How we change systems

Data & measuring

Find the latest data for the number of social assistance recipients and welfare incomes in every province and territory.

Welfare in Canada

This annual report looks at the total incomes available to those relying on social assistance (often called “welfare”), taking into account tax credits and other benefits along with social assistance itself.

Learn more

Social Assistance Summaries

This annual report tracks the number of recipients of social assistance (welfare payments) in each province and territory.

Learn more

In this section

Overview

Featured data & measuring publications

Report

Welfare in Canada, 2023 report now available

July 25, 2024

Maytree’s latest edition of Welfare in Canada shows that households who received social assistance continued to live on incomes that were below the official poverty line in 2023.

Report

image: Social Assistance Summaries, 2023

Latest count of social assistance recipients across Canada is now available

Mohy-Dean Tabbara

May 16, 2024

Social Assistance Summaries, 2023 shows how many people were receiving social assistance in 2022-23 and how numbers changed over time. Maytree develops this annual report by collecting and verifying data from provincial and territorial governments.

Report

Abstract image: colourful bars over a matrix of lines (Maytree)

A fine line: Finding the right seniors’ poverty measure in Canada

October 25, 2023

The Market Basket Measure (MBM), Canada’s Official Poverty Line, alone does not effectively measure income adequacy for seniors. The report recommends that the federal government either develop an MBM for seniors or adopt one of the measures developed by researchers in Canada.