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< Back to Welfare in Canada

Introduction: Total welfare incomes

  • OverviewMain page
  • Download the full report
  • About the report
  • Methodology
  • OverviewMain page
  • Download the full report

Location

Total welfare incomes by location

  • Introduction: Total welfare incomes
  • Alberta
  • Overview: Welfare incomes across Canada
  • British Columbia
  • Manitoba
  • New Brunswick
  • Newfoundland and Labrador
  • Northwest Territories
  • Nova Scotia
  • Nunavut
  • Ontario
  • Prince Edward Island
  • Quebec
  • Saskatchewan
  • Yukon

Key features of social assistance

Key features of social assistance

  • Introduction: Key features of social assistance
  • Eligibility for social assistance: Assets and income
  • Indexation of benefits and credits
  • Cost-of-living and shelter benefits breakdown

Download the data

Download the data

  • – All jurisdictions
  • Alberta
  • British Columbia
  • Manitoba
  • New Brunswick
  • Newfoundland and Labrador
  • Northwest Territories
  • Nova Scotia
  • Nunavut
  • Ontario
  • Prince Edward Island
  • Quebec
  • Saskatchewan
  • Yukon

Previous editions

Welfare in Canada editions

  • Welfare in Canada 2023
  • Welfare in Canada 2022
  • Welfare in Canada 2021
  • Welfare in Canada 2020
  • Welfare in Canada 2019
  • Welfare in Canada 2018
  • Welfare in Canada 2017
  • Welfare in Canada 2016
  • Welfare in Canada 2015
  • Welfare in Canada 2014
  • Welfare in Canada 2013
  • Welfare in Canada 2012
< Back to Welfare in Canada

Introduction: Total welfare incomes

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Last updated: July 2024

The next 14 sections of this report focus on the amount and adequacy of the total welfare incomes of our example households in Canada’s provinces and territories.

The first section (Overview: Welfare incomes across Canada) provides a cross-Canada overview, grouped into the provinces and the territories, including:

  • A summary of total welfare incomes,
  • An analysis of changes to welfare incomes from the previous year,
  • A summary of income adequacy relative to Canada’s poverty measures, and
  • An analysis of income adequacy by household.

Thereafter we present the total welfare incomes of our example households for each province and territory, listed alphabetically. Each jurisdiction’s section includes:

  • The components of welfare incomes, including social assistance payments,
    child benefits, and other tax credits/benefits, for each of our example
    households,
  • Changes in total welfare incomes for each household over time in constant
    2023 dollars,
  • An analysis of the adequacy of the total welfare incomes of each household
    in relation to poverty and/or low-income measures currently in use in
    Canada, and
  • An examination of the adequacy of the total welfare incomes of each
    household over time.

As outlined in the Methodology section, “total welfare income” refers to the total amount of income a household receives from all government transfers, including but not limited to social assistance payments. We examine the total welfare incomes of four example households in each jurisdiction, except for Alberta and Manitoba (where we examine five) and Quebec (where we examine six) due to the program specifics in these jurisdictions; more information is available in each jurisdiction’s section.

All the data included in this report is available for download in the sidebar by jurisdiction and for the whole of Canada.

Explore the Report

  • OverviewMain page
  • Download the full report
  • About the report
  • Methodology
  • OverviewMain page
  • Download the full report

Location

Total welfare incomes by location

  • Introduction: Total welfare incomes
  • Alberta
  • Overview: Welfare incomes across Canada
  • British Columbia
  • Manitoba
  • New Brunswick
  • Newfoundland and Labrador
  • Northwest Territories
  • Nova Scotia
  • Nunavut
  • Ontario
  • Prince Edward Island
  • Quebec
  • Saskatchewan
  • Yukon

Key features of social assistance

Key features of social assistance

  • Introduction: Key features of social assistance
  • Eligibility for social assistance: Assets and income
  • Indexation of benefits and credits
  • Cost-of-living and shelter benefits breakdown

Download the data

Download the data

  • – All jurisdictions
  • Alberta
  • British Columbia
  • Manitoba
  • New Brunswick
  • Newfoundland and Labrador
  • Northwest Territories
  • Nova Scotia
  • Nunavut
  • Ontario
  • Prince Edward Island
  • Quebec
  • Saskatchewan
  • Yukon

Previous editions

Welfare in Canada editions

  • Welfare in Canada 2023
  • Welfare in Canada 2022
  • Welfare in Canada 2021
  • Welfare in Canada 2020
  • Welfare in Canada 2019
  • Welfare in Canada 2018
  • Welfare in Canada 2017
  • Welfare in Canada 2016
  • Welfare in Canada 2015
  • Welfare in Canada 2014
  • Welfare in Canada 2013
  • Welfare in Canada 2012

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