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:
New Brunswick’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 New Brunswick, social assistance is delivered under two programs:
- Transitional Assistance Program (TAP); and
- Extended Benefits Program (EBP).
A third program, the Interim Assistance Program, was terminated in 2010.
Transitional Assistance Program (TAP)
Transitional assistance is intended for individuals who are employable as well as those requiring support and intervention to become employable. Within TAP, two rate categories exist:
- Transitional Assistance Program: Multi-person units and single adults with a designation are provided assistance under this category; and
- Transitional Assistance Program – Single Employable: Single adult units who do not have a designation and are not certified as blind, deaf, or having a disability are provided assistance under this category.
Extended Benefits Program (EBP)
EBP benefits are intended for units with an individual who has been certified by the Medical Advisory Board as blind, deaf, or having a disability. It also includes some individuals who have been on assistance for many years and have a special designation.
To be eligible for EBP as a person with a disability, the Medical Advisory Board considers for certification an individual who suffers from a major physiological, anatomical, or psychological impairment, which severely limits the individual in normal living activities, and which is likely to continue indefinitely without substantial improvement (i.e., totally and permanently disabled).
How many people claim social assistance?
On average, there were 20,765 cases (family units and unattached single adults) and about 31,598 beneficiaries (individual claimants, their partners, and dependent children) in New Brunswick’s social assistance programs during 2022-23.
Among cases, on average, about 71 per cent (14,781) of cases received the Transitional Assistance Program (TAP), and about 29 per cent (5,984) received the Extended Benefits Program (EBP) in 2022-23. And among beneficiaries, on average, over 79 per cent (25,055) received TAP and fewer than 21 per cent (6,543) received EBP.
The total number of social assistance cases increased by 2,339 in 2022-23. The increase came solely from TAP as EBP cases saw a very small decrease. Similarly, the total number of beneficiaries increased by 3,815 in 2022-23, and TAP accounted for the increase because the number of beneficiaries of EBP decreased.
To access data on cases and beneficiaries of social assistance in New Brunswick, including disaggregated data, download the spreadsheet here.
Transitional Assistance Program (TAP)
On average, there were about 14,800 cases and just under 25,100 beneficiaries receiving TAP in 2022-23. Both numbers increased for the first time since 2011-12.
In the 2000s, TAP operated alongside the Interim Assistance Program (IAP), which had between 1,300 and 1,800 cases and between 1,400 and 2,200 beneficiaries until it was terminated in 2010.
Figure 1NB: Yearly cases and beneficiaries of TAP and the IAP in New Brunswick, 2000-01 to 2022-23
Extended Benefits Program (EBP)
In 2022-23, there were an average of about 6,000 cases and just over 6,500 beneficiaries receiving EBP in New Brunswick. These numbers have remained steady over the last 16 years.
Figure 2NB: Yearly cases and beneficiaries of EBP in New Brunswick, 2000-01 to 2022-23
What proportion of the population receives social assistance?
In 2022-23, on average, 5.1 per cent of people in New Brunswick under 65 received TAP or EBP, which is one in 20.
In previous years, the proportion of people under 65 receiving TAP had generally decreased, from, on average, 6.7 per cent in 2000-01 to 3.5 per cent in 2021-22. However, in 2022-23, the proportion increased to 4 per cent, the first increase since 2017-18.
The proportion of people under 65 receiving the EBP was 1 per cent in 2022-23. It has remained stable at between 1 and 1.1 per cent since 2000-01.
Note: The total population under 65 is estimated on July 1 of the fiscal year (e.g., July 1, 2022, for 2022-23), whereas social assistance beneficiary data is a fiscal year average (April to March).
Figure 3NB: Yearly beneficiaries of TAP and EBP as a proportion of the under-65 population of New Brunswick, 2000-01 to 2022-23
Who is receiving social assistance (disaggregated data)?
This section examines the following disaggregated data:
- Cases and beneficiaries by household type;
- Beneficiaries by gender;
- Heads of household by gender for unattached singles and single parents;
- Adult beneficiaries by age category; and
- Cases receiving employment income
Note that the figures below represent percentages but total numbers are available.
Household type
In 2022-23, on average, unattached singles were the majority of social assistance cases among households for both programs, comprising over 65 per cent of TAP cases and just under 94 per cent of EBP cases. For TAP, single parents had the second highest percentage of cases, representing just under 25 per cent. Couples without children had the second highest percentage of EBP cases, representing just over 3 per cent.
For TAP, on average, single-parent households had the highest proportion of beneficiaries, representing close to 41 per cent, followed by unattached singles, representing about 39 per cent. Unattached singles were the significant majority of EBP beneficiaries representing almost 86 per cent, followed by couples without children, with about 6 per cent.
Figure 4NB: Percentage of cases and beneficiaries of TAP by household in New Brunswick, 2020-21 to 2022-23
Cases
Beneficiaries
Figure 5NB: Percentage of cases and beneficiaries of EBP by household in New Brunswick, 2020-21 to 2022-23
Cases
Beneficiaries
Beneficiaries by gender
On average, in 2022-23, TAP beneficiaries were almost equally split between genders, with slightly more female recipients. EBP had more male beneficiaries with almost 57 per cent.
Figure 6NB: Percentage of beneficiaries of TAP by gender in New Brunswick, 2020-21 to 2022-23
Figure 7NB: Percentage of beneficiaries of EBP by gender in New Brunswick, 2020-21 to 2022-23
Gender of heads of household
In 2022-23, on average, the majority of unattached singles receiving TAP were male, representing over 61 per cent. In contrast, the majority of heads of single parent households were female, representing over 88 per cent.
The gender distribution is similar for EBP in 2022-23. On average, just under 59 per cent of unattached singles were male and almost 81 per cent of heads of single parent households were female.
Figure 8NB: Percentage of heads of unattached single and single parent households receiving TAP by gender in New Brunswick, 2020-21 to 2022-23
Figure 9NB: Percentage of heads of unattached single and single parent households receiving EBP by gender in New Brunswick, 2020-21 to 2022-23
Age of adult beneficiaries
In 2022-23, on average, the most common age group of adult beneficiaries receiving TAP was 30-39, representing over 23 per cent, closely followed by 50-59, representing over 22 per cent. The least common was people over 60, representing just over 12 per cent.
For adult beneficiaries receiving EBP, on average, the most common age group in 2022-23 was 50-59, representing 26 per cent, followed by 18-19, representing under 22 per cent. The least common age group was over 60 with just over 14 per cent.
Figure 10NB: Percentage of adult beneficiaries of TAP by age category in New Brunswick, 2020-21 to 2022-23
Figure 11NB: Percentage of adult beneficiaries of EBP by age category in New Brunswick, 2020-21 to 2022-23
Employment income
In New Brunswick, employment income is defined as wages earned from part-time and full-time employment and/or self-employment.
In 2022-23, on average, 22 per cent of TAP cases had employment income. Cases receiving EBP were less likely to have employment income at 11 per cent. Both numbers increased from the previous year. Data on cases with employment income was not available for 2020-21.
Figure 12NB: Percentage of TAP and EBP cases with employment income in New Brunswick, 2021-22 and 2022-23
Access to data
The data on social assistance recipients in New Brunswick is available for download, including:
- Total cases and beneficiaries;
- Percentage of beneficiaries relative to the total under-65 population;
- Cases and beneficiaries by household type;
- Beneficiaries by gender;
- Heads of household by gender for unattached single and single parent households;
- Adult beneficiaries by age category; and
- Percentage of cases receiving employment income.
Data notes
- The data reflects the average number of cases and beneficiaries over the fiscal year (April 1 to March 31).
- The numbers do not include First Nations living on reserves.
- In the late 1990s, the province’s statistical agency was in the early stages of publishing data and provincial figures for 1997 to 2000 cannot be verified.
- The Transitional Assistance Program operated alongside the Interim Assistance Program through the 2000s until the Interim Assistance Program was terminated in 2010.
- Data on employment income for 2020-21 is not included.
- Click here for more information about how the data is gathered.
Resources
- Download the all-Canada report as a PDF
- Download the data for New Brunswick
- Download the data for all of Canada
- Further breakdowns on social assistance data in New Brunswick can be found on the province’s website