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:
Northwest Territories’ social assistance program
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 the total incomes available to social assistance recipients, visit the Welfare in Canada report.
In the Northwest Territories, social assistance is delivered through two distinct programs:
- The Income Assistance (IA) program; and
- The Income Assistance for Seniors and Persons with Disabilities (IASPD) program.
Both programs provide financial assistance to residents to help meet basic living needs, such as food, shelter, and utilities. Depending on individual circumstances, recipients may also qualify for clothing, educational assistance, and child-care benefits.
Launched on July 1, 2024, the IASPD program replaced the disability allowance previously available within the IA program. It is specifically designed for residents who have a financial need greater than their income and who fall into one of two groups:
- Seniors: residents aged 60 and older.
- Persons with disabilities: residents aged 19 to 59 with a permanent or long-term disability.
According to the program’s policy, a permanent or long-term disability is defined as physical, mental, intellectual, cognitive, learning, communication, or sensory impairment that is permanent, persistent, or prolonged and which significantly restricts the person’s ability to perform daily living activities and meet their basic financial needs for a continuous period of 12 months or more.
Those who do not meet the eligibility criteria for IASPD may apply for the month-to-month Income Assistance program. An applicant may receive benefits from either IA or IASPD but not both programs at the same time.
How many people claim social assistance?
In the 2024-25 fiscal year, on average, there were 1,294 cases (families and single adults) and 1,875 beneficiaries (individual claimants, their partners, and dependent children) in the Northwest Territories’ Income Assistance Program. Compared to the previous year, the number of cases and beneficiaries significantly decreased by 33 and 30 per cent, respectively. The decrease in 2024-25 largely reflects recipients moving from the IA program to the new IASPD program.
From 2001-02 to 2005-06, both the number of cases and beneficiaries declined. This was followed by 15 years of gradual increases until a sharp decline in 2020-21 and 2021-22. From 2022-23 until 2023-24, both cases and beneficiaries saw an increase. However, in 2024-25, the number of cases and beneficiaries decreased to a level similar to 2008-09.
Between April and June 2024, an average of 604 cases accessed the disabled allowance (around 47 per cent of all IA cases), at which time the allowance ended. While the monthly average number of cases decreased by 4 per cent from the previous year, the proportion of total IA cases receiving the allowance increased by 13 percentage points. The fact that this proportion grew means that the total number of all IA cases dropped much faster than the number of cases accessing the disabled allowance.
Note that the disabled allowance is delivered to individuals not households, which means that the cases and beneficiaries are the same. As such, this report focuses on cases of disabled allowance.
The average monthly number of cases receiving the new IASPD program from July 2024 to June 2025 was 1,205. This was the first year of the program, so no comparative data is available.
To access data on cases and beneficiaries of social assistance in the Northwest Territories, including disaggregated data, download the spreadsheet here.
Figure 1NT: Yearly cases and beneficiaries of the Income Assistance in the Northwest Territories, 2001-02 to 2024-25
Figure 2NT: Yearly cases of the disabled allowance under the Income Assistance program and of the IASPD program in the Northwest Territories, 2020-21 to 2024-25
What proportion of the population receives social assistance?
In 2024-25, on average, 4.7 per cent of people in the Northwest Territories under 65 received Income Assistance, which is about one in 21.
After reaching a low of 4.6 per cent in 2005-06, the proportion of recipients gradually increased to a peak of 8 per cent in 2019-20. It then declined to 5.8 per cent in 2021-22, before rising again to 6.7 per cent in 2022-23 and then slightly falling to 6.6 per cent in 2023-24. In 2024-25, it declined to the level previously recorded in 2006-07.
Figure 3NT: Yearly beneficiaries of the Income Assistance Program as a proportion of the under-65 Northwest Territories population, 2001-02 to 2024-25
Note: The total population under 65 is estimated on July 1 of the fiscal year (e.g., July 1, 2024, for 2024-25), whereas social assistance beneficiary data is a fiscal year average (April 1 to March 31).
Who is receiving social assistance?
This section examines disaggregated data on cases by household type and adult beneficiaries by age group.
Household type
In 2024-25, on average, unattached single households were the majority among cases of Income Assistance in the Northwest Territories, representing 1,012 (78 per cent). Single parents had the second-highest number, with 216 cases (17 per cent).
Additional disaggregated data on the number of beneficiaries by household type for each program is available for download here.
Data on cases by household type was not available for the disabled allowance under Income Assistance for the year 2024-25.
Figure 4NT: Cases of Income Assistance by household in the Northwest Territories, 2020-21 and 2024-25
Age of adult beneficiaries
From 2020-21 to 2024-25, the largest age group among adult beneficiaries in both Income Assistance and the disability allowance under Income Assistance was consistently 30-54. Its share remained stable with a slight upward trend, except for a small decline in 2024-25 within those receiving Income Assistance.
Adults aged 18-29 formed the second-largest group of beneficiaries in both programs, and their share increased over time.
Those aged 55-65 were the third-largest group under both programs. This group showed a slightly increasing trend within Income Assistance. For the disabled allowance under Income Assistance, their share peaked in 2022–23 before returning to its typical level and beginning a slight decline.
The smallest age group in both programs was over 65. Its share remained steady throughout the period. Notably, the disability allowance under Income Assistance had no beneficiaries in this age category in 2024–25.
Regarding the new IASPD program, the largest age groups among recipients were 55-65 and 30-54, followed by over 65 and 18-29.
Figure 5NT: Percentage of adult beneficiaries of Income Assistance by age group in the Northwest Territories, 2020-21 to 2024-25
Figure 6NT: Percentage of adults receiving the disabled allowance under Income Assistance by age group in the Northwest Territories, 2020-21 to 2024-25
Figure 7NT: Percentage of adult beneficiaries of the IASPD program by age group in the Northwest Territories, 2024-25
Access to data
The data on social assistance recipients in the Northwest Territories 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 (Income Assistance) and cases (disabled allowance) by gender;
- Single households by gender;
- Adult beneficiaries by age group; 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).
- Fiscal year averages prior to 2001 are not available due to changes in the gathering and reporting of case and beneficiary data.
- Data on cases and beneficiaries of Income Assistance by household type was not available for the year 2022-23.
- No data on cases by household type, gender of single households, and cases with employment income was available for those receiving the disabled allowance under Income Assistance.
- “Non-binary” is a third option for gender. None chose it in 2020-21, and one beneficiary chose it in 2021-22 and 2022-23.
- While the gender distribution of Income Assistance is typically balanced between males and females, the gender of single households reveals a more pronounced gender pattern. Typically, unattached singles are predominantly male, while single parents are primarily female.
- From 2024-25 onward, age groups were redefined as 18-29, 30-54, 55-65, and over 65. Previous data on adult beneficiaries by age group was revised to maintain consistency across reporting years.
- The Northwest Territories created a new program in 2024 for seniors and for persons with disabilities. The Income Assistance for Seniors and Persons with Disabilities (IASPD) program was introduced in July 2024. The “disabled allowance” under the Income Assistance program was then terminated. For 2024-25, the data for IASPD covers July 2024 to June 2025.
- Employment income is referred to as “earned income,” and includes any income coming from:
- Salary and wages including voluntary deductions but excluding mandatory deductions;
- Net income, determined in accordance with the direction of the Director, from hunting, trapping, and fishing;
- Net income, determined in accordance with the direction of the Director, from business operations;
- Fellowships, bursaries, and scholarships; and
- Honoraria received from benevolent or other organizations or agencies.
- These Income Assistance numbers only represent clients served by the Department of Education, Culture and Employment of the Government of the Northwest Territories. First Nations on reserves are included in this data.
- Information about how the data is gathered.
Resources
- Download the all-Canada report as a PDF
- Download the data for the Northwest Territories
- Download the data for all of Canada
- Further breakdowns on social assistance data in Newfoundland and Labrador can be found on the province’s website