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Prince Edward Island

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Total welfare incomes by location

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Last updated: May 2024

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:

Prince Edward Island’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.

Prince Edward Island delivers two programs: The Social Assistance Program and AccessAbility Supports (formerly Disability Support Program).

Social Assistance Program

The Social Assistance Program delivers benefits on a case-by-case basis to residents who meet the eligibility requirements. The amount of financial assistance available varies depending on the individual’s circumstances, such as the number of dependents in the household and whether they are a homeowner. Assistance may include help with food and shelter costs, personal expenses, medical, optical care, and funeral costs.

Since June 2018, the program has seen increases in income and asset exemptions, as well as rate adjustments to provide additional financial assistance to its clients. Moreover, the program has been focusing more on supporting clients to transition to work.

AccessAbility Supports

AccessAbility Supports (AAS) replaced the former Disability Support Program in July 2018 with expanded supports. Under AAS, people with disabilities (physical, intellectual, neurological, sensory, or mental health) can access the supports they need to achieve full citizenship by enabling social inclusion and economic participation.

Supports are identified through individualized case plans. These plans take into account the results of a capability assessment tool that helps to better understand how the disability affects activities of daily living to ensure appropriate support is provided.

There are five areas of support available:

  1. Personal Supports
    These supports help with personal daily living. Examples include life skills training, technical aids and assistive devices, in-home supports, or personal care workers.
  2. Housing Supports
    Independent living can be supported by providing funding to a caregiver for daily supervision and guidance in a community-based residential setting or financial help for home and vehicle modifications.
  3. Community Supports
    These supports help active participation in the community. Examples include assistance with finding or keeping a job, supporting youth transitioning from the education system to the workforce, and enabling active participation in the community.
  4. Caregiver Supports
    These supports provide help for family members or caregivers. Examples of supports include respite for caregivers to allow time for breaks to recharge, or support to provide supervision for adults who are unable to stay home alone safely so that caregivers can go to work or school.
  5. Financial Supports
    Assured Income is the financial assistance component of AAS for eligible clients. It covers basic needs, such as food, shelter, clothing, household, and personal supplies. Previously, if a person with a disability required financial assistance, the individual would need to apply to the Social Assistance Program.

These supports are not meant to duplicate or replicate existing services.

For the purposes of AAS, “person with a disability” means a person who has a substantial physical, intellectual, sensory, neurological, or mental impairment that (i) is continuous or recurrent, (ii) is expected to last for at least one year, and (iii) has a direct and cumulative effect on, and results in a substantial restriction in, the person’s ability to function in his or her home, the community, or a workplace.

How many people claim social assistance?

On average, there were just over 5,300 cases (family units and unattached single adults) receiving social assistance in Prince Edward Island during the 2022-23 fiscal year. Among the cases, 57 per cent (3,307) received Social Assistance and 43 per cent (2,277) received AccessAbility Supports (AAS).

Social Assistance had almost 5,100 beneficiaries (individual claimants, their partners, and dependent children).

The total number of cases increased, on average, by 410 in 2022-23. This increase came from both programs, with 56 per cent (228) coming from Social Assistance and 44 per cent (182) coming from AAS.

To access data on cases and beneficiaries of social assistance in Prince Edward Island, including disaggregated data, download the spreadsheet here.

Social Assistance Program

On average, there were over 3,000 cases and nearly 5,100 beneficiaries in Prince Edward Island’s Social Assistance Program during 2022-23. Both numbers increased by about 7.5 per cent from the previous year.

Over the long term, these numbers fell in the late 1990s and early 2000s, then remained stable until 2018-19, after which they fell for three consecutive years.

Figure 1PE: Yearly cases and beneficiaries of Social Assistance in Prince Edward Island, 1996-97 to 2022-23

AccessAbility Supports

In 2022-23, on average, almost 2,300 cases received support through AAS.

The number of cases has risen gradually since its introduction in 2001-02, with on average nearly 9 per cent (182) more cases in 2022-23 compared to the previous year.

Figure 2PE: Yearly cases of AAS in Prince Edward Island, 2001-02 to 2022-23
Download the data in a spreadsheet

What proportion of the population receives social assistance?

In 2022-23, on average, 5.5 per cent of people in Prince Edward Island under 65 received the Social Assistance Program or AccessAbility Supports, which is 1 in 18.

The proportion of Social Assistance beneficiaries decreased until 2007-08, declining from 5.8 to 4.7 per cent. From 2007-08 to 2019-20, on average, the proportion hovered around 4.5 per cent. The average proportion of Social Assistance then fell, reaching its lowest point of 3.6 per cent in 2021-22. In 2022-23, the proportion increased for the first time in three years, reaching 3.8 per cent.

The proportion of cases under 65 receiving AAS, on average, has slowly increased from 0.6 in 2001-02 to a high of 1.7 per cent in 2022-23.

Note: The total population under 65 is estimated on July 1 of the fiscal year (e.g., July 1, 2022, for 2022-23), whereas beneficiary (for the Social Assistance Program) and case (for AAS) data is a fiscal year average (April to March).

Figure 3PE: Yearly beneficiaries of Social Assistance and cases of AAS as a proportion of the under-65 population of Prince Edward Island, 2001-02 to 2022-23

Who is receiving social assistance (disaggregated data)?

This section examines the following disaggregated data:

Note that the figures below represent percentages but total numbers are available. 

Download the data in a spreadsheet

Household type

In 2022-23, on average, the majority of cases of social assistance among households were unattached singles for both the Social Assistance Program and AccessAbility Supports, representing nearly 71 per cent and nearly 91 per cent, respectively. On average, single parents had the second largest number of Social Assistance cases, representing just under 20 per cent, and couples without children had the second largest number of AccessAbility Supports cases, representing less than 6 per cent.

Unattached singles also had, on average, the largest percentage of Social Assistance beneficiaries in 2022-23, representing more than 42 per cent, followed by single parent households, representing under 35 per cent.

Figure 4PE: Percentage of cases and beneficiaries of Social Assistance by household in Prince Edward Island, 2021 to 2022-23
Cases
Beneficiaries

Figure 5PE: Percentage of cases of AAS by household in Prince Edward Island, 2021 to 2022-23

Beneficiaries (Social Assistance) and cases (AAS) by gender

In 2022-23, the majority of Social Assistance beneficiaries were female representing, on average, over 54 per cent, and the majority of AAS cases were male representing, on average, almost 57 per cent.

Figure 6PE: Percentage of beneficiaries of Social Assistance by gender in Prince Edward Island, 2021 to 2022-23
Figure 7PE: Percentage of cases of AAS by gender in Prince Edward Island, 2021 to 2022-23

Gender of heads of household

In 2022-23, on average, the majority of unattached singles receiving Social Assistance were male, representing just under 52 per cent. In contrast, the majority of heads of single parent households were female, representing over 91 per cent.

The gender distribution was similar for AAS in 2022-23. On average, more than 59 per cent of unattached singles were male and over 80 per cent of heads of single parent households were female.

Figure 8PE: Percentage of heads of unattached single and single parent households receiving Social Assistance by gender in Prince Edward Island, 2021 to 2022-23
Figure 9PE: Heads of unattached single and single parent households receiving AAS by gender in Prince Edward Island, 2021 to 2022-23

Age of adult beneficiaries

In 2022-23, on average, the most common age group of adult beneficiaries receiving Social Assistance was 30-30, representing under 24 per cent, closely followed by those over 60, representing almost 23 per cent. The least common age group was 18-29, representing less than 17 per cent.

For adults receiving AAS, on average, the most common age group in 2022-23 was 18-29, representing around 27 per cent. The least common age group was 40-49 with less than 17 per cent.

Figure 10PE: Percentage of adult beneficiaries of Social Assistance by age category in Prince Edward Island, 2021 to 2022-23
Figure 11PE: Percentage of adults receiving AAS by age category in Prince Edward Island, 2021 to 2022-23

Employment income

In the context of Prince Edward Island, employment income means income from employment and self-employment, including wages, commission, tips, training allowances, and employment bonuses.

In 2022-23, on average, 11 per cent of both Social Assistance and AAS cases had employment income. Data on employment income was not available for 2020-21 and 2021-22.

Figure 12PE: Percentage of Social Assistance and AAS cases with employment income in Prince Edward Island, 2022-23
Download the data in a spreadsheet

Access to data

The data on social assistance recipients in Prince Edward Island is available for download, including:

  1. Total cases and beneficiaries;
  2. Percentage of beneficiaries relative to the total under-65 population;
  3. Cases and beneficiaries by household type;
  4. Beneficiaries (Social Assistance) and cases (AAS) by gender;
  5. Heads of household by gender for unattached single and single parent households;
  6. Adult beneficiaries by age category; and
  7. Percentage of cases receiving employment income.
Download the data in a spreadsheet

Data notes

  • The yearly social assistance data reflects the average number of cases and beneficiaries over the fiscal year (April 1 to March 31).
  • The Disability Support Program was introduced in 2001-02. In July 2018, it was expanded and became AccessAbility Supports.
  • Social Assistance Program beneficiary figures for the years 1996-97 to 2003-04 are not available.
  • The disaggregated Social Assistance Program and AccessAbility Supports data for 2020-21 reflects the number of cases and beneficiaries on March 31, 2021. Data for 2021-22 and 2022-23 are fiscal year averages.
  • For 2019-20, the number of Social Assistance Program beneficiaries is for March 2020 and is not a yearly fiscal average as previously reported.
  • The unattached singles cases of AccessAbility Supports includes the following child cases (0-17 year-olds): 402 in 2020-21, 436 in 2021-22, and 484 in 2022-23.
  • The gender of two Social Assistance Program cases and beneficiaries in 2021 was unknown as well as one case and beneficiary in 2021-22.
  • The variable “adult by age category” does not include child cases due to age range as it does not include those who are 17 or younger.
  • The numbers do not include First Nations living on reserves.
  • Click here for more information about how the data is gathered.
Download the data in a spreadsheet

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