The Social Assistance Summaries series tracks the number of recipients of social assistance (welfare payments) in each province and territory.
For the total incomes available to those relying on social assistance, visit the Welfare in Canada report.
Prince Edward Island’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.
Prince Edward Island delivers both a Social Assistance Program and an AccessAbility Supports Program (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 home-owner. 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:
- 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. - 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. - 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. - Caregiver Supports
Provides 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. - 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.
How many people claim social assistance?
Social Assistance Program
On average, there were about 2,800 cases (families and single adults) and just nearly 4,700 beneficiaries (individual claimants, their partners, and dependent children) in Prince Edward Island’s Social Assistance Program during 2020-21. Both numbers decreased from the previous year: 345 fewer cases (11 per cent) and 389 fewer beneficiaries (8 per cent).
Over the long term, these numbers fell in the late 1990s and early 2000s, then remained reasonably stable until 2018-19, after which they fell for three consecutive years.
Figure 1PE – Yearly cases and beneficiaries of the Social Assistance Program in Prince Edward Island, 1996 to 2022
AccessAbility Supports
In 2021-22, on average, almost 2,100 individuals received support through the AccessAbility Supports Program.
The number of cases has risen gradually since its introduction in 2001-02, with on average 200 more cases in 2021-22.
Figure 2PE – Yearly cases of AccessAbility Supports in Prince Edward Island, 2001 to 2022
What proportion of the population receives social assistance?
In 2020-21, on average, 4.9 per cent of people in Prince Edward Island under 65 received the Social Assistance Program or the AccessAbility Supports Program, which is one in 20. The proportion of recipients receiving social assistance has followed a similar pattern as the total number of recipients.
The proportion of Social Assistance Program beneficiaries decreased until 2007-08, declining from 5.8 per cent to 4.7 per cent. From 2007-08 to 2019-20, on average, the proportion hovered around 4.5 per cent. Since then, the average proportion of Social Assistance Program recipients relative to the under-65 population has fallen, reaching its lowest point of 3.4 per cent in 2021-22.
The proportion of people under 65 receiving AccessAbility Supports has slowly increased from 0.6 in 2001-02 to a high of 1.5 per cent in 2021-22.
Note: The total population under-65 is estimated on July 1 of a given year, whereas social assistance beneficiary data is a fiscal year average (April to March).
Figure 3PE – Yearly beneficiaries of the Social Assistance Program and cases of the AccessAbility Supports Program as a proportion of the under-65 population of Prince Edward Island, 2001 to 2022
Who is receiving social assistance?
In 2021-22, on average, unattached singles comprised the majority of social assistance cases among households for both the Social Assistance Program and the AccessAbility Supports Program, with 71 per cent and 91 per cent, respectively. On average, single parents had the second largest number of Social Assistance Program cases, with 19 per cent, and couples without children had the second largest number of AccessAbility Supports cases, with over five per cent.
Unattached singles also had, on average, the largest percentage of Social Assistance Program beneficiaries in 2021-22, with almost 43 per cent, followed by single parents, with 33 per cent.
In 2021-22, the majority of the Social Assistance Program’s beneficiaries were female with, on average, 64 per cent, and the majority of Accessibility Supports Program cases were male with, on average, 58 per cent.
Social Assistance Program
Figure 4PE – Cases and beneficiaries of the Social Assistance Program by household in Prince Edward Island, 2021 and 2021-22
A. Cases
B. Beneficiaries
Figure 5PE – Cases of the Social Assistance Program by gender in Prince Edward Island, 2021 and 2021-22
AccessAbility Supports
Figure 6PE – Cases of AccessAbility Supports by household in Prince Edward Island, 2021 and 2021-22
Figure 7PE – Cases of AccessAbility Supports by gender in Prince Edward Island, 2021 and 2021-22
Data
Figure 8PE – Yearly social assistance data for Prince Edward Island, 1997 to 2022
Figure 9PE – Social assistance data by household for Prince Edward Island, 2021 and 2021-22
Figure 10PE – Social assistance data by gender for Prince Edward Island, 2021 and 2021-22
Data notes
- Social Assistance Program beneficiary figures for the years 1996-97 to 2003-04 are not available.
- The Disability Support Program was introduced in 2001-02. In July 2018, it was expanded and became AccessAbility Supports.
- The yearly social assistance data reflects the average number of cases and beneficiaries over the fiscal year (April 1 to March 31).
- The disaggregated Social Assistance and AccessAbility Supports data (by household and gender) for 2020-21 reflects the number of cases and beneficiaries on March 31, 2021 and for 2021-22 it is a fiscal year average.
- For 2019-20, the number of Social Assistance beneficiaries is for March 2020 and is not a yearly fiscal average as previously reported.
- The unattached singles cases of AccessAbility Supports for 2020-21 include 402 child cases (0-17 year-olds) and for 2021-22, 436 child cases (0-17 year-olds).
- The gender of two Social Assistance Program cases and beneficiaries in 2020-21 was unknown as well as one case and beneficiary in 2021-22.
- The numbers do not include First Nations living on reserves.
- Click here for more information about how the data is gathered.
Resources
- Download the all-Canada report as a PDF
- Download the data for Prince Edward Island
- Download the data for all of Canada
- Further breakdowns of social assistance data in Prince Edward Island can be found on the province’s website.