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Components of welfare incomes
In Alberta, households that qualify for basic social assistance payments also qualify for:
- Recurring additional social assistance payments from the province,
- Federal and provincial child benefits for households with children, and
- Federal tax credits and/or benefits.
Together, these components form a household’s total welfare income. Households may receive less if they have income from other sources, or more if they have special health- or disability-related needs.
In 2023, all example households in Alberta received additional payments from both the provincial and federal governments related to the increased cost of living due to high inflation. These payments are included where applicable in the table below.
Table 1AB shows the value of the welfare income components of the five example household types in Alberta in 2023. All five households are assumed to be living in Calgary, receiving provincial social assistance starting January 1 and for the entire year, and earning no employment income. The child in the single-parent household is two years old and the children in the couple household are ten and 15. Other assumptions for calculating incomes are in the methodology section.
Table 1AB: Components of welfare incomes for all example households in Alberta, 2023
* The Barriers to Full Employment (BFE) category of Alberta’s Income Support program provides the unattached single with a disability with slightly higher basic benefits than those provided to the unattached single considered employable. To access BFE, an applicant must show evidence that they will likely never be able to work continuously on a full-time basis in the competitive labour force. This includes people whose employment is intermittent due to their health problems.
**The Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) provides recipients with a flat-rate living allowance that is not linked to household size. Some additional benefits for recipients and any dependent children are available, depending on their circumstances. To access AISH, an applicant must show evidence that they have a severe handicap that is likely to be permanent and causes a substantial limitation in their ability to earn a livelihood.
Total annual welfare incomes in 2023 ranged from $11,262 for the unattached single considered employable to $39,279 for the couple with two children. The income of the unattached single with a disability who qualified for Barriers to Full Employment (BFE) was $12,820 and that of the unattached single with a disability who qualified for Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) was $23,473. The income of the single parent with one child was $26,969.
Basic social assistance: Monthly Core Essential and Core Shelter benefit amounts for the unattached single considered employable, the unattached single with a disability who qualified for BFE benefits, the single parent with one child, and the couple with two children, as well as the Living Allowance amount for the unattached single with a disability receiving AISH benefits, increased by 6 per cent as of January 1 due to the resumption of benefit indexing in 2023. More details about indexing are available in the Indexation of benefits and credits section.
Additional social assistance: The couple with two children received the annual School Expense Allowance, which also increased by 6 per cent as of January 1 due to benefit indexing. This benefit provided $110 for the ten-year-old and $190 for the 15-year-old in that household.
As well, all five households received time-limited additional social assistance benefits intended to assist with the impacts of inflation. The Alberta Affordability Payment of $100 per month was issued to the head of each household and each of their children under the age of 18, paid between January and June. All unattached single households received $600 while the single parent with one child received $1,200 and the couple with two children received $1,800.
Federal child benefits: Both households with children received the Canada Child Benefit (CCB), which increased with inflation in July 2023 from $583.08 to $619.75 per month for a child under six years of age and from $491.91 to $522.91 per month for a child aged six to 17.
Provincial child benefits: Both households with children received the Alberta Child and Family Benefit (ACFB). The monthly ACFB amount for the single parent with one child was $110.83 between January and June, increasing to $117.50 between July and December. The monthly amount for the couple with two children was $166.25 between January and June, increasing to $176.25 between July and December.
Federal tax credits/benefits: All five households received the GST/HST credit, which increased in July 2023 with inflation. The unattached single considered employable, the unattached single with a disability eligible for BFE benefits, and the unattached single with a disability eligible for AISH benefits all received $315.50 in basic GST/HST credit, while the single parent with one child received $631 and the couple with two children received $963.
Three households also received the GST/HST credit supplement. The unattached single with a disability (BFE) received $4.73 while the unattached single with a disability who qualified for the AISH program and the single parent with one child received the full amount of $166.
All households also received the Grocery Rebate, which was an additional one-time GST credit payment related to the increased cost of living due to high inflation, paid in July 2023. The unattached single considered employable received $153, the unattached single with a disability (BFE) received $157.73, the unattached single with a disability (AISH) received $233.50, the single parent with one child received $386.50, and the couple with two children received $467.
All five households received the federal climate action incentive (CAI) payment. The three unattached single households received $713.75, the single parent with one child received $1070.75, and the couple with two children received $1,427.75. All the CAI benefit amounts received by these households increased in 2023.
Provincial tax credits/benefits: No provincial tax credits or benefits were available to the example households in 2023.
Cost-of-living payments
As mentioned earlier, all five households received payments from both the provincial and federal governments related to the increased cost of living resulting from high inflation in 2023. The Alberta Affordability Payment was a time-limited series of monthly $100 payments to the head of each Income Support and AISH household and each of their children under the age of 18, paid between January and June. The federal Grocery Rebate was paid in July 2023 and was equivalent to the two regular GST credit (and credit supplement if applicable) payments received in the first half of 2023. These amounts are included in, and are not in addition to, the benefits described in the Components section above.
Table 2AB: Cost-of-living payments for all example households in Alberta, 2023
Changes to welfare incomes
Figures 1AB and 2AB show how the total welfare incomes for each of the five example household types in Alberta have changed over time.
Note that the values are in 2023 constant dollars, not current dollars, calculated using the Canada CPI. Using constant dollars takes into account the effect of inflation given that inflation reduces current dollar values over time. Also note that using the CPI for Alberta would result in a slightly different trendline.
Figure 1AB: Welfare incomes for example unattached single households in Alberta 1986–2023, in 2023 constant dollars
The welfare income of the unattached single considered employable declined sharply between 1986 and 1989. A slight increase in 1991 was followed by a period of gradual decline until 2008. After an increase in 2009, and until 2018, their income was fairly stable at around $10,000. Increasing and indexing basic social assistance payments to inflation in 2019 led to an increase in total welfare income, and the addition of the federal climate action incentive and COVID-19 pandemic-related payments led to a further increase in 2020. The elimination of inflationary indexing between 2020 and 2023 as well as the loss of pandemic-related payments and the impact of high inflation led to declines between 2020 and 2022. The reinstatement of inflationary indexing in 2023, the addition of provincial payments intended to address the impacts of inflation, and an increase in the federal climate action incentive all led to the increase in 2023. Overall, the total welfare income of this household declined by 23 per cent across the time series but increased by 11 per cent between 2022 and 2023, in constant 2023 dollars.
The total welfare income of the unattached single with a disability receiving Barriers to Full Employment (BFE) began being tracked in 1989 and has hovered at around $12,000, with a high in 2020 and a low in 2005, across the entire 35-year time series. The increase in 2023 was largely due to an inflationary 6 per cent increase to basic social assistance benefits, the addition of provincial payments intended to address the impacts of inflation, and an increase in the federal climate action incentive. Overall, the total welfare income of this household increased by only 3 per cent across the time series but by 9 per cent between 2022 and 2023, in constant 2023 dollars.
The welfare income for the unattached single with a disability receiving Alberta’s Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) benefits has only been tracked since 2006. Several fluctuations have occurred since then, with incomes reaching a peak in 2013 at $24,878 and another high in 2020, but declining thereafter with the loss of COVID-19 payments and the impact of high inflation. The increase in 2023 to $23,473 was largely due to the same factors impacting the other unattached single households: an inflationary 6 per cent increase to basic social assistance benefits, the addition of provincial payments intended to address the impacts of inflation, and an increase in the federal climate action incentive. Overall, the total welfare income of this household increased by 30 per cent across the entire time series, and by 6 per cent between 2022 and 2023, in constant 2023 dollars.
Figure 2AB: Welfare incomes for example households with children in Alberta 1986–2023, in 2023 constant dollars
The welfare incomes of both households with children followed a similar trendline across the time series, with upticks in 1991 and 2006, as well as a general increase after 2014 to the high point for both households in 2020. The large increases in 2019 were primarily due to increasing and indexing basic social assistance benefits, while the increases in 2020 were mostly due to the addition of federal COVID-19 pandemic-related benefits and climate action incentive payments. Decreases in 2021 and 2022 were due to the loss of COVID-related payments as well as the impact of high inflation, especially given the pause in inflationary indexing of basic social assistance benefits that occurred between 2020 and 2023. The increases in 2023 were due to an inflationary six per cent increase to basic social assistance benefits, the addition of provincial payments intended to address the impacts of inflation, and an increase in the federal climate action incentive.
In 2023, the single parent with one child received a total welfare income of $26,969, which represents an 8 per cent increase compared to 2022 and a 14 per cent increase across the entire time series, in constant 2023 dollars. The income of the couple with two children in 2023 was $39,279, which represents an 8 per cent increase compared to 2022 and a 6 per cent increase across the entire time series, in constant 2023 dollars.
Adequacy of welfare incomes
The adequacy of a household’s total welfare income can be assessed by comparing it to established thresholds of poverty and/or low income.
Two measures of poverty are commonly used in Canada:
- The Market Basket Measure (MBM), Canada’s Official Poverty Line, identifies households whose disposable income is less than the cost of a “basket” of goods and services that represents a basic standard of living.
- The Deep Income Poverty (MBM-DIP) threshold identifies households whose disposable income is less than 75 per cent of the MBM.
There are also two commonly used measures of low income:
- The Low Income Measure (LIM) identifies households whose income is substantially below what is typical in society (i.e., less than half of the median income).
- The Low Income Cut-Off (LICO) identifies households that are likely to spend a disproportionately large share of their income on food, clothing, and shelter.
Note that MBM thresholds vary by province and community size, and LICO thresholds vary by community size. As such, we use the thresholds for the province’s largest city, Calgary, in the analysis below. Note also that we use after-tax LIM and LICO thresholds, and that the LIM thresholds for 2023 are estimates based on increasing the 2022 thresholds to account for inflation.
Also note that none of the poverty or low-income measures currently in use in Canada accounts for the higher cost of living faced by people with disabilities, and that these additional costs are not reflected in our analysis.
More information about the thresholds is available in the methodology section.
A table containing comparisons of the welfare incomes of the five example household types in Alberta with all four poverty/low-income thresholds is available for download.
Poverty threshold comparisons
The welfare incomes of all five example household types in Alberta were below Canada’s Official Poverty Line (MBM) in 2023, and four of the five were below the Deep Income Poverty threshold (MBM-DIP). This means that all five Alberta households were living in poverty in 2023, and four of the five were living in deep poverty.
Figures 3AB and 4AB compare 2023 welfare incomes for the five example household types to the MBM and MBM-DIP thresholds for Calgary.
Figure 3AB: Welfare incomes and poverty thresholds for example unattached single households in Alberta, 2023
The income of the unattached single considered employable was least adequate relative to the poverty thresholds. Their income was $10,453 below the Deep Income Poverty threshold and $17,692 below the Poverty Line. This means their income was 52 per cent of the MBM-DIP and only 39 per cent of the MBM.
The income of the unattached single with a disability receiving Barriers to Full Employment (BFE) program benefits was marginally more adequate relative to the thresholds. Their income was $8,896 below the Deep Income Poverty threshold and $16,135 below the Poverty Line. This means their income was 59 per cent of the MBM-DIP and 44 per cent of the MBM.
The unattached single with a disability who qualified for the Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) program had the most adequate income relative to the thresholds. Theirs was the only welfare income of all five example households in Alberta that was above the Deep Income Poverty threshold. Although their income was above the deep poverty level by $1,757, their income remained below the Poverty Line by $5,482. This means their income was 108 per cent of the MBM-DIP and 81 per cent of the MBM.
Note that the poverty experienced by people with disabilities is underrepresented because neither the MBM nor the MBM-DIP account for the additional costs associated with disability. See the methodology section for more information.
Figure 4AB: Welfare incomes and poverty thresholds for example households with children in Alberta, 2023
The income of the single parent with one child was $3,741 below the Deep Income Poverty threshold and $13,978 below the Poverty Line. This means their income was 88 per cent of the MBM-DIP and 66 per cent of the MBM.
The income of the couple with two children was $4,153 below the Deep Income Poverty threshold and $18,630 below the Poverty Line. This means their income was 90 per cent of the MBM-DIP and 68 per cent of the MBM.
Low-income threshold comparisons
The welfare incomes of the example households were also below, and in some instances far below, the low-income thresholds, as shown in the table linked above.
The lowest income relative to the thresholds was that of the unattached single considered employable, whose total welfare income was only 38 per cent of the LIM and 45 per cent of the LICO. The unattached single with a disability receiving BFE benefits also had a low income relative to the thresholds, at 43 per cent of the LIM and 51 per cent of the LICO. The highest income relative to the thresholds was that of the unattached single with a disability receiving AISH benefits, whose income was 78 per cent of the LIM and 93 per cent of the LICO.
The households with children had comparable income-to-threshold levels: 64 per cent of the LIM and 88 per cent of the LICO for the single parent with one child, and 65 per cent of the LIM and 82 per cent of the LICO for the couple with two children.
The LIM and LICO thresholds used are for after-tax income, as noted above.
Changes to adequacy of welfare incomes
Figures 5AB and 6AB show the total welfare incomes of each of the five example household types in Alberta as a percentage of the Market Basket Measure (MBM), starting in 2002.
The black line at the top of each graph (i.e., the 100 per cent threshold) represents Canada’s Official Poverty Line. This means that the graphs show how far below or above the Poverty Line the five households’ total welfare incomes have been in each year over the past 22 years.
The grey line indicates the Deep Income Poverty threshold, which is 75 per cent of the MBM. The graphs therefore also show the relationship between total welfare incomes and deep poverty in each year over the past 22 years.
Three trendlines for each household are shown in the graphs. These lines illustrate the relationship between welfare incomes and changes made to the MBM due to “rebasing.” The two rebasings, occurring in 2008 and 2018, are indicated with a dotted vertical line. Rebasing updates the measure, including the items and costs included in the basket, to better reflect contemporary circumstances and typically creates a higher poverty threshold than that of a previous base. The trendlines demonstrate changes to household poverty levels within the years in which each base is applied. A trendline rise within those periods indicates an improvement in a household’s level of poverty while a decline indicates a deepening of their poverty. For the years in which rebasing took place (2008 and 2018), we include the percentage of welfare income relative to the MBM using both the previous and the new base to show how rebasing affects adequacy.
Note that MBM thresholds vary by province and community size. The MBM thresholds used here are for Calgary. More information is in the methodology section.
Figure 5AB: Welfare incomes as a percentage of the MBM for example unattached single households in Alberta, 2002–2023
The total welfare income of the unattached single considered employable was the least adequate relative to the Poverty Line of all the example households in Alberta. In 2002, their income was only 36 per cent of the Poverty Line. After a slight increase in 2009, a period of relative stasis followed. A decline with the 2018 rebasing was followed by increases until 2020, two years of decline, and another improvement in 2023. Their income ended the time series in 2023 at 39 per cent of the Poverty Line.
Overall, the total welfare income of the unattached single considered employable improved by only three percentage points relative to the Poverty Line between 2002 and 2023, meaning that this household was living at virtually the same depth of poverty in 2023 as they were in 2002. As well, their income was below the Deep Income Poverty threshold across the entire time series, meaning that they would have consistently lived in deep poverty for the last 22 years.
The total welfare income of the unattached single with a disability receiving BFE benefits started the time series at 54 per cent of the Poverty Line and remained at about the same level, with a slightly declining trend, over the following 16 years. After the MBM rebasing in 2018, their income was at only 43 per cent of the Poverty Line. A slight improvement to 46 per cent in 2020 was followed by a decline to 40 per cent in 2022 and an increase to 44 per cent in 2023.
Overall, the total welfare income of the unattached single with a disability receiving BFE benefits declined by ten percentage points relative to the Poverty Line across the time series, from 54 to 44 per cent. In addition, their income was below the Deep Income Poverty threshold across the entire time series. As such, this household experienced a deepening of their already very deep poverty over the past 22 years.
The total welfare income of the unattached single with a disability receiving AISH benefits was the most adequate relative to the Poverty Line of all the example households in Alberta and was the only income to be consistently above the Deep Income Poverty threshold. At the start of our time series in 2006, this household’s total welfare income was 81 per cent of the Poverty Line, increasing to a high of 101 per cent in 2013. Their income declined to 82 per cent after the 2018 rebasing, fell further to 76 per cent in 2022, but rebounded to 81 per cent at the end of the time series in 2023.
Overall, the welfare income of the unattached single with a disability receiving AISH benefits ended the time series at the same level relative to the Poverty Line as it began. This household has therefore effectively seen no improvement to their poverty level across the 18-year time series, despite the improvement in 2012 that saw their income hover at or slightly below the Poverty Line for five years until 2017. While their income was above the Deep Income Poverty threshold across the time series, this household would have lived in poverty in all but one of the last 18 years.
Figure 6AB: Welfare incomes as a percentage of the MBM for example households with children in Alberta, 2002–2023
The total welfare income of the single parent with one child started the time series at 59 per cent of the Poverty Line. After improvements that resulted in a peak of 69 per cent in both 2017 and 2020, their income declined to 61 per cent of the Poverty Line in 2022 but rebounded to 66 per cent in 2023. Overall, their income improved by seven percentage points relative to the Poverty Line across the 22-year time series, which represents limited progress for this household. As well, their income remained below the Deep Income Poverty threshold across the entire time series, meaning that they would have consistently lived in deep poverty for the last 22 years.
The total welfare income of the couple with two children followed a nearly identical trendline across the time series, starting at the slightly higher level of 66 per cent of the Poverty Line and ending at 68 per cent with peaks in 2006, 2017, and 2020. This 2 percentage point increase indicates a very slight improvement of their poverty over the past 22 years. And, as with the single parent with one child, the income of the couple with two children remained below the Deep Income Poverty threshold across the time series, meaning that they would have consistently lived in deep poverty over the last 22 years.
Access to data
The data for Alberta is available for download, including:
- Components of welfare income for all households, with a breakdown of cost-of-living payments.
- Welfare incomes in 2023 constant dollars over time for all households.
- Welfare incomes in real dollars over time for all households.
- Adequacy of welfare incomes: a comparison of each household’s welfare income with all four poverty and low-income thresholds.
- Adequacy over time: each household’s welfare income relative to the Official Poverty Line (MBM) from 2002–2023.