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:
Yukon’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 the Yukon, the Social Assistance (SA) program provides benefits to eligible adults and children. General assistance includes amounts provided for items of basic maintenance and items of supplementary need. Discretionary aid over and above general assistance may be provided to SA recipients to meet unexpected, short-term, or emergency needs, or to non-recipients to prevent or alleviate an immediate health or safety risk.
- Items of basic maintenance consist of a basic allowance (towards the cost of food, clothing, and personal and household items) and a shelter allowance (towards the cost of shelter and utilities). The amount of support available is based on the size, composition, and geographical location of the household. Recipients may also qualify for the Yukon Supplementary Allowance (YSA) – a benefit for those excluded from the workforce due to disability or age.
- Items of supplementary need are available to recipients after six consecutive months on SA or immediately to children and YSA recipients. These items consist of allowances for needs such as transportation, telephone, laundry, winter clothing, and furniture, and a Christmas allowance, among others.
- Discretionary aid may be provided at the Director’s discretion for needs such as necessary health-care services (for example, prescriptions, medical travel, dental services, optical services, and medical equipment and supplies), shelter security deposits, moving expenses, storage, employment expenses, or education expenses.
The Yukon Supplementary Allowance (YSA) is an additional $250 monthly benefit for adult recipients who are excluded from the labour force due to either being 65 and older or a severe and prolonged disability, defined as a significant functional impairment that is expected to persist for an extended duration. Eligibility is based on the Social Assistance social worker’s determination and may require an additional self-report and/or a health practitioner’s assessment.
How many people claim social assistance?
In 2024-25, there were, on average, 976 cases (families and single adults) and 1,384 beneficiaries (individual claimants, their partners, and dependent children) in the Yukon’s Social Assistance program. Both numbers slightly increased from the previous year. This is the second year of growth after three consecutive years of decline.
Within the Social Assistance program, about 551 cases and 661 beneficiaries received the Yukon Supplementary Allowance (YSA) in 2024-25. This means about 56 per cent of cases and 48 per cent of beneficiaries of Social Assistance received the YSA in 2024-25.
To access data on cases and beneficiaries of social assistance in the Yukon, including disaggregated data, download the spreadsheet here.
Figure 1YT: Yearly cases and beneficiaries of Social Assistance in the Yukon, 1997 to 2024-25
Figure 2YT: Yearly cases and beneficiaries of the Yukon Supplementary Allowance (YSA) under Social Assistance, 2018-19 to 2024-25
What proportion of the population receives social assistance?
On average, 3.4 per cent of people in the Yukon under 65 received Social Assistance in 2024-25, which is about 1 in 29.
Figure 3YT: Yearly beneficiaries of Social Assistance as a proportion of the under-65 population of the Yukon, 1997 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
On average, in 2024-25, unattached singles were the majority household of cases of the Yukon’s Social Assistance program, representing 765 (about 78 per cent). Single parents were second, representing 163 cases (about 17 per cent).
Among those who received YSA under Social Assistance, on average, 490 cases (just over 89 per cent) were unattached singles in 2024-25. Single parents were second, representing 40 cases (just over 7 per cent).
Additional disaggregated data on the number of beneficiaries by household type for each program is available for download here.
Figure 4YT: Cases of Social Assistance by household in the Yukon, 2020-21 to 2024-25
Figure 5YT: Cases of the Yukon Supplementary Allowance (YSA) under Social Assistance by household, 2020-21 to 2024-25
Age of adult beneficiaries
From 2020-21 to 2024-25, the most common age group among adult beneficiaries for both Social Assistance and YSA under Social Assistance was consistently 30-54. Their share for both programs slightly increased over this period.
Adults aged 55-65 formed the second-largest age group of beneficiaries in both programs, and their share decreased slightly between 2020-21 and 2024-25.
Those aged 18-29 were the third-largest group under both programs and their share was steady. Meanwhile, the smallest group in both programs was those over 65. Their share consistently increased throughout the period.
Figure 6YT: Percentage of adult beneficiaries of Social Assistance by age group in the Yukon, 2020-21 to 2024-25
Figure 7YT: Percentage of adult beneficiaries of the Yukon Supplementary Allowance (YSA) under Social Assistance by age group, 2020-21 to 2024-25
Access to data
The data on social assistance recipients in the Yukon 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 by gender;
- Single households by gender;
- Adult beneficiaries by age group; and
- Percentage of cases receiving employment income.
Data notes
- The numbers represent only clients served by the Yukon Government. They do not include clients served by the Government of Canada (Crown Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada) or the self-governing First Nations that administer their own social assistance programs.
- The data reflects the number of cases and beneficiaries on March 31 of each year from 1997 to 2018, and the average over the fiscal year (April 1 to March 31) from 2018-19 onward.
- The breakdown by gender (which has been included from 2020-21 onward) only captures beneficiaries identifying as female or male and does not capture beneficiaries where gender is recorded as “another gender,” “not provided,” or “prefer not to report.”
- While the gender distribution of Social Assistance and the Yukon Supplementary Allowance 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.
- Yukon Supplementary Allowance (YSA) data represents all cases of Social Assistance where at least one household member is receiving the YSA benefit due to a disability or age 65+. YSA calculations have been improved to include households where both adults are in receipt of the YSA. Beneficiaries include other household members who may not be in receipt of the YSA themselves.
- 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 the Yukon, employment income is defined as earned income obtained through employment, and includes:
- gratuities (tips);
- income from any business carried out by the recipient;
- salary, wages, and other remuneration; and
- stipends (for example, an allowance for attending a program)
- Information about how the data is gathered.