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:
Ontario’s 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 Ontario, social assistance is composed of two programs:
- Ontario Works, which provides income and employment assistance to people in financial need; and
- Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), which is intended to help people with disabilities and their families live as independently as possible, and to reduce or eliminate disability-related barriers to employment.
Both Ontario Works and ODSP provide a range of allowances and benefits.
Ontario Works
Ontario Works includes an amount for shelter and basic needs such as food and clothing. In addition, employment assistance helps clients find, prepare for, and maintain a job.
Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP)
ODSP income support helps with the cost of basic needs as well as providing certain health- and employment-related benefits.
People with disabilities can also voluntarily access support for employment to prepare for, find, and keep a job. Individuals do not have to receive ODSP income support to be eligible for employment programming.
Under the Ontario Disability Support Program Act, being a person with a disability means:
- The recipient has a substantial mental or physical impairment that is continuous or recurrent and is expected to last one year or more.
- The direct and cumulative effect of the recipient’s impairment results in a substantial restriction in their ability to work, care for themselves, or take part in community life.
- The recipient’s impairment and its likely duration and restrictions have been verified by an approved healthcare professional.
How many people claim social assistance?
In 2024-25, there were, on average, 654,692 cases (families and single adults) and 972,979 beneficiaries (individual claimants, their partners, and dependent children) in Ontario’s social assistance programs.
Among the cases, 43 per cent (282,011) were recipients of Ontario Works and 57 per cent (372,681) were recipients of ODSP. Among beneficiaries, 48 per cent (470,867) were recipients of Ontario Works, and 52 per cent (502,112) were recipients of ODSP.
Compared to 2023-24, the total number of social assistance cases increased by 41,394 and beneficiaries by 56,031 in 2024-25.
To access data on cases and beneficiaries of social assistance in Ontario, including disaggregated data, download the spreadsheet here.
Ontario Works
On average, there were 282,011 cases receiving Ontario Works in 2024-25, a sharp increase of almost 37,000 (15 per cent) from 2023-24. The number of beneficiaries increased to over 470,800 in 2024-25, over 50,000 (12 per cent) more than in the previous year.
Since 2016-17, both cases and beneficiaries had been decreasing, and, in 2021-22, reached their lowest since we began tracking social assistance numbers in 1996-97. However, 2024-25 marks the third-highest number of cases within this time frame.
Figure 1ON: Yearly cases and beneficiaries of Ontario Works, 1997-98 to 2024-25
Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP)
In 2024-25, there were, on average, 372,681 cases and 502,112 beneficiaries receiving ODSP. After steadily rising since the early 2000s, both numbers decreased between 2020-21 and 2022-23. While the number of cases increased and the beneficiaries decreased in 2023-24, both increased in 2024-25, cases by 1.3 per cent (4,629) and beneficiaries by 1.2 per cent (about 5,757).
Figure 2ON: Yearly cases and beneficiaries of ODSP, 1997-98 to 2024-25
What proportion of the population receives social assistance?
In 2024-25, on average, 7.4 per cent of people in Ontario under 65 received Ontario Works or ODSP, which is about 1 in 14.
The proportion of people under 65 receiving ODSP decreased to 3.8 per cent in 2024-25, the fifth year in a row the number decreased. Previously, the proportion had increased consistently since 2005-06, reaching a high of 4.3 per cent in 2019-20.
The proportion of Ontario Works beneficiaries declined sharply from 8.1 per cent in 1997-98 to 4 per cent in 2001-02. Since then, it has remained within a range of 2.9 to 4.1 per cent. In 2021-22, the proportion reached its lowest point at 2.9 per cent but increased from 2022-23 to 2024-25, rising to 3.6 per cent.
Figure 3ON: Yearly beneficiaries of Ontario Works and ODSP as a proportion of the under-65 population of Ontario, 1997-98 to 2024-25
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 singles comprised the majority of social assistance cases among households for both programs, representing 194,612 (69 per cent) of Ontario Works and 301,140 (around 81 per cent) of ODSP. For both programs, single parents were the second-largest percentage of cases, representing 63,496 (23 per cent) for Ontario Works and 33,746 (9 per cent) for ODSP.
Additional disaggregated data on the number of beneficiaries by household type for each program is available for download here.
Figure 4ON: Cases of Ontario Works by household, 2020-21 to 2024-25
Figure 5ON: Cases of ODSP by household, 2020-21 to 2024-25
Age of adult beneficiaries
From 2021 to 2024-25, the most common age group among adult beneficiaries was 30-54 in both Ontario Works and ODSP. The share of adult beneficiaries aged 30-54 increased among those receiving Ontario Works, and it was steady for those receiving ODSP.
Those aged 18-29 were the second most frequent age group among Ontario Works beneficiaries. Their share fell in 2021–22 but has risen consistently since 2022–23. The second most frequent age group receiving ODSP was 55-65, with a stable share over the period of analysis.
Those aged 55-65 were the third most prevalent group among Ontario Works adult beneficiaries – with a steady trend over time. Meanwhile, the third most prevalent group among ODSP beneficiaries were aged 18-29 and also showed a steady trend.
The fourth age group is the same for both programs: those over 65 years old, with a steady trend among Ontario Works adult beneficiaries and an increasing share among ODSP beneficiaries.
Figure 6ON: Percentage of adult beneficiaries of Ontario Works by age group, 2020-21 to 2024-25
Figure 7ON: Percentage of adult beneficiaries of ODSP by age group, 2020-21 to 2024-25
Access to data
The data on social assistance recipients in Ontario 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;
- Cases and beneficiaries by sex;
- Single households by sex;
- 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).
- The numbers include First Nations living on reserves.
- Ontario Works was proclaimed on May 1, 1998, and replaced the General Welfare Assistance Act (GWA).
- Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) was proclaimed on June 1, 1998, and replaced the Family Benefits Act (FBA).
- Data prior to June 1998 have been adjusted to reflect Ontario Works and ODSP.
- A case refers to a single individual or a family unit on social assistance (e.g., a family on social assistance is counted as one case).
- The number of beneficiaries refers to the total number of single individuals and heads of family units on social assistance plus all their dependants (i.e., spouses, dependent children, and dependent adults).
- Note that the Social Assistance Management System (SAMS) information is for Sex; current Gender Identity data is not yet available for reporting.
- While the sex distribution of Ontario Works and ODSP 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.
- 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.
- In Ontario, employment income refers to any employment earnings reported in the most recent income reporting period. For individuals receiving assistance from Ontario Works and ODSP, recipients are required to report any earnings they or their family members receive during a specific reporting period. The reported income can impact the amount of financial assistance they receive in the following month.
- There are two exceptions:
- Earnings of children under 18 years of age are fully exempt.
- If the primary applicant or their family member is enrolled full-time in high school or postsecondary education, exemptions
- Information about how the data is gathered.
Resources
- Download the all-Canada report as a PDF
- Download the data for Ontario
- Download the data for all of Canada
- Further breakdowns on social assistance caseload data in Ontario can be found on the province’s website