In this section you will find:
Components of welfare incomes
In Manitoba, households that qualify for basic social assistance payments also qualify for:
- Recurring additional social assistance payments from the province,
- Federal child benefits for households with children, and
- Federal tax credits 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.
Table 1MB shows the value of the welfare income components of the five example household types in Manitoba in 2025. All five households are assumed to be living in Winnipeg, 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 1MB: Components of welfare incomes for all example households in Manitoba, 2025
Note: Amounts in the table are rounded to the nearest dollar and, as such, totals may not exactly add up.
*The Barriers to Full Employment (MBFE) category of Manitoba’s Employment and Income Assistance (EIA) program provides the unattached single with a disability with slightly higher basic benefits than those provided to the unattached single considered employable. To access MBFE, an applicant must show evidence that they have a medical condition that prevents them from working for more than one year.
**The Manitoba Supports for Persons with Disabilities (MSPD) program provides recipients with higher benefits than the MBFE category of the EIA program. Recipients are also entitled to higher earned income exemptions and ongoing health benefits for 24 months after exiting the program. To access MSPD, an applicant must show evidence through a disability impact assessment that they have a “severe and prolonged” disability, as defined in the program regulations. Individuals who are part of certain prescribed classes do not have to participate in this assessment.
Total annual welfare incomes in 2025 ranged from $11,469 for the unattached single considered employable to $36,759 for the couple with two children. The unattached single with a disability who qualifies for MBFE benefits received $15,328, the unattached single with a disability who qualifies for MSPD benefits received $17,274, and the single parent with one child received $27,429.
Basic social assistance: Monthly Basic Necessities amounts for the four households receiving Employment and Income Assistance (EIA) benefits did not change in 2025. The unattached single considered employable received $245, the unattached single with a disability (MBFE) received $247.80, the single parent with one child received $344.40, and the couple with two children received $700.40.The value of several monthly supplementary benefits available to the unattached single with a disability (MBFE) and the single parent with one child households – totalling $81.60 and $71.60, respectively – also did not change in 2025.
The Monthly Income Support rate received by the unattached single with a disability (MSPD) household increased by 3 per cent in July due to annual inflation indexing, increasing from $564.02 to $580.94. This household also received an additional basic supplement of $48.80, which did not change in value in 2025.
Rent Assist amounts for all households increased in July, reflecting the regular indexation schedule. As a result, the unattached single considered employable received $638 per month for the first six months of the year and $676 per month for the last six months of the year, the two unattached single with a disability households received $735 and $780, and the single parent with one child and the couple with two children both received $1,064 and $1,140.
Additional social assistance: The unattached single with a disability (MBFE) received the Income Assistance for Persons with Disabilities benefit of $105 per month. The couple with two children received the annual School Supplies Allowance of $60 for the ten-year-old and $100 for the 15-year-old. These amounts remained unchanged in 2025.
Federal child benefits: Both households with children received the Canada Child Benefit (CCB), which increased with inflation in July from $648.92 to $666.42 per month for a child under six years of age and from $547.50 to $562.33 per month for a child aged six to 17.
Provincial child benefits: Neither of the example households with children received the Manitoba Child Benefit because parents receiving social assistance in Manitoba are categorically ineligible.
Federal tax credits/benefits: All five households received the GST/HST credit, which increased with inflation in July. The households received the following totals, paid in quarterly instalments throughout the year: all three unattached single households received $344.50, the single parent with one child received $689, and the couple with two children received $1,052.
Three households also received the GST/HST credit supplement, in the following total amounts: the unattached single with a disability (MBFE) received a reduced amount of $57.14, the unattached single with a disability (MSPD) received a reduced amount of $84.59, and the single parent with one child received the maximum amount of $181.50.
All five households received the Canada Carbon Rebate (CCR). However, in 2025, the federal government removed the federal fuel charge (the “carbon tax”), which also meant the end of carbon tax-related rebate payments. As a result, the CCR ended in spring 2025, meaning that households in Manitoba received significantly reduced rebate payment amounts in 2025 compared to 2024. The differences in CCR amounts between 2024 and 2025 for the Manitoba households are indicated in Table 2MB.
Table 2MB: Difference in carbon tax rebate payments in Manitoba, 2024 to 2025
Note: Amounts in the table are rounded to the nearest dollar and, as such, totals may not exactly add up.
Provincial tax credits/benefits: No provincial tax credits or benefits were available to the five households in 2025.
Changes to welfare incomes
Figures 1MB and 2MB show how the total welfare incomes for each of the five example household types in Manitoba have changed over time.
Note that the values are in 2025 constant dollars, not current dollars, and are calculated using the Canada Consumer Price Index (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 Manitoba would have resulted in a slightly different trendline.
Figure 1MB: Welfare incomes for example unattached single households in Manitoba 1986–2025, in 2025 constant dollars
The total welfare income of the unattached single considered employable declined steadily from its peak in 1992 until 2007. Two years of increases were followed by a small decline through to 2012, after which increases – largely due to enhancements to Manitoba’s Rent Assist program – followed until 2018. The increase in 2020 was largely due to the federal climate action incentive (CAI) and COVID-19 pandemic-related payments. The declines in 2021 and 2022 were primarily due to the loss of pandemic-related payments and the effects of high inflation. The increase in 2023 was mostly the result of higher Rent Assist and federal CAI payment amounts. The decrease in 2024 was largely the result of losing the 2023 temporary inflation-related cost-of-living payments from the federal government. The downward trend continued in 2025 due to reduced Canada Carbon Rebate payments. Overall, the total welfare income of this household declined by 1 per cent since 2024, and by 10 per cent across the time series, in constant 2025 dollars.
The welfare income of the unattached single with a disability (MBFE) followed a similar trajectory, reaching a high point in 1992 and following a decreasing trend through to 2012. Increases thereafter were primarily the result of enhancements to Manitoba’s Rent Assist program. The sharper increase in 2020 was due to COVID-19 pandemic-related payments and the federal CAI payment, with the decrease since then largely due to the loss of pandemic-related payments and the effects of high inflation. The slight decrease in 2024 was largely the result of losing the 2023 temporary federal inflation-related cost-of-living payments. The downward trend continued in 2025 due to reduced Canada Carbon Rebate payments. Overall, the total welfare income of this household declined by 1 per cent since 2024 but increased by 6 per cent since the start of the time series in constant 2025 dollars.
The welfare income of the unattached single with a disability (MSPD) has only been tracked since the program started in 2023. The total welfare income of this household was essentially unchanged from 2024 to 2025 – decreasing by 7 constant 2025 dollars – because the increase in Monthly Income Support and Rent Assist amounts was largely offset by the reduction in Canada Carbon Rebate payments. The total welfare income increased 2 per cent in constant 2025 dollars since the start of the time series in 2023, largely due to the household not receiving MSPD for the full 12 months of 2023.
Figure 2MB: Welfare incomes for example households with children in Manitoba 1986–2025, in 2025 constant dollars
The welfare income of the single parent with one child saw a small peak in 1992 and a sharp drop in 1993, followed by a lengthy period of relative stasis until 2014. Starting in 2015, their income began to increase, largely due to changes to federal child benefits. The sharp increase in 2020, which represents the high point across the time series, was primarily due to federal climate action incentive (CAI) and COVID-19 pandemic-related payments. The decline from 2020 to 2022 was largely due to the loss of pandemic-related payments as well as the effects of high inflation. Welfare incomes remained essentially unchanged in 2023, 2024, and 2025. Overall, the total welfare income of this household increased by 0.2 per cent compared to 2024, and by 23 per cent across the time series, in constant 2025 dollars.
The total welfare income of the couple with two children reached a peak in 1992, dropped significantly in 1993, then levelled out for many years. Large increases from 2014 to 2017 were largely due to changes to federal child benefits. The high point in 2020, resulting largely from COVID-19 pandemic-related payments, was followed by declines in 2021 and 2022 that were primarily due to the loss of those payments and the effects of high inflation. Welfare incomes remained essentially unchanged in 2023, 2024, and 2025. Overall, the total welfare income of this household decreased by 0.2 per cent since 2024 but increased by 4.6 per cent across the time series, in constant 2025 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, Winnipeg, in the analysis below. Note also that we use after-tax LIM and LICO thresholds, and that the LIM thresholds for 2025 are estimates based on increasing the 2024 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 spreadsheet containing comparisons of the welfare incomes of the five example household types in Manitoba with all four poverty/low-income thresholds is available for download.
Poverty threshold comparisons
The welfare incomes of all five example household types in Manitoba were below, and in at least one case far below, Canada’s Official Poverty Line (MBM) in 2025, and all five were below the Deep Income Poverty threshold (MBM-DIP). This means that all five Manitoba households were living not only in poverty in 2025, but also in deep poverty.
Figures 3MB and 4MB compare 2025 welfare incomes for the five example household types to the 2025 MBM and MBM-DIP thresholds for Winnipeg.
Figure 3MB: Welfare incomes and poverty thresholds for example unattached single households in Manitoba, 2025
The unattached single considered employable had the least adequate income relative to the poverty thresholds. Their income was $9,461 below the Deep Income Poverty threshold and $16,438 below the Poverty Line. This means their income was only 55 per cent of the MBM-DIP and only 41 per cent of the MBM.
The unattached single with a disability (MBFE) fared slightly better, with an income that was $5,601 below the Deep Income Poverty threshold and $12,578 below the Poverty Line. This means their income was 73 per cent of the MBM-DIP and 55 per cent of the MBM.
The income of the unattached single with a disability (MSPD) was more adequate relative to the poverty thresholds. Their income was $3,655 below the Deep Income Poverty threshold and $10,632 below the Poverty Line. This means their income was 83 per cent of the MBM-DIP and 62 per cent of the MBM.
Note that the poverty experienced by people with disabilities is underrepresented because neither the MBM nor the MBM-DIP accounts for the additional costs associated with disability. See the Methodology section for more information.
Figure 4MB: Welfare incomes and poverty thresholds for example households with children in Manitoba, 2025
The incomes of households with children were more adequate relative to the poverty thresholds than those of the unattached single households.
The income of the single parent with one child was the most adequate of all five households relative to the poverty thresholds, at $2,171 below the Deep Income Poverty threshold and $12,037 below the Poverty Line. This means their income was 93 per cent of the MBM-DIP and 69 per cent of the MBM.
The income of the couple with two children was less adequate, at $5,101 below the Deep Income Poverty threshold and $19,054 below the Poverty Line. This means their income was 88 per cent of the MBM-DIP and 66 per cent of the MBM.
Low-income threshold comparisons
The welfare incomes of the example households were also below, and in some instances less than half of, the low-income thresholds, as shown in the spreadsheet linked below.
The least adequate income relative to the thresholds was that of the unattached single considered employable, whose total welfare income was only 36 per cent of the LIM and 43 per cent of the LICO. The most adequate relative to the thresholds was that of the single parent with one child, whose welfare income was only 61 per cent of the LIM and 85 per cent of the LICO.
The unattached single with a disability (MBFE) had an income of only 48 per cent of the LIM and 58 per cent of the LICO. The unattached single with a disability (MSPD) had an income of only 54 per cent of the LIM and 65 per cent of the LICO. The income of the couple with two children was only 58 per cent of the LIM and 74 per cent of the LICO.
The LIM and LICO thresholds used are for after-tax income, as noted above.
Changes to adequacy of welfare incomes
Figures 5MB and 6MB show the total welfare incomes of each of the five example household types in Manitoba as a percentage of the Market Basket Measure (MBM) threshold for Winnipeg, 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 the Poverty Line the five households’ total welfare incomes have been in each year over the past 24 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 24 years.
Four trendlines for each household are shown in the graphs. These lines illustrate the relationship between welfare incomes and the MBM, including changes made to the MBM due to “rebasing.” The three rebasings, occurring in 2008, 2018, and 2023, 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. The trendlines in these graphs 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, 2018, and 2023), 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 fluctuations in the graph trendlines are due to a combination of changes in welfare incomes and the cost of living. Both factors must be considered when analyzing trends.
Figure 5MB: Welfare incomes as a percentage of the MBM for example unattached single households in Manitoba, 2002–2025
The total welfare income of the unattached single considered employable began the time series at 45 per cent of the Poverty Line and hovered at around that level until 2016 and 2017, when it increased to 52 per cent. Their income declined to 44 per cent after the 2018 rebasing and declined further to 40 per cent in 2022. Their income was 42 per cent after the 2023 rebasing, remained at that level in 2024, and ended the time series in 2025 at 41 per cent of the Poverty Line.
Overall, the total welfare income of the unattached single considered employable was 4 percentage points lower relative to the Poverty Line in 2025 than it was in 2002, meaning that households in these circumstances were living in deeper poverty than they were 24 years ago. Their income was also well below the Deep Income Poverty threshold across the entire time series, meaning that households living in these circumstances would have consistently lived in deep poverty for the last 24 years.
The welfare income of the unattached single with a disability (MBFE) started the time series at 67 per cent of the Poverty Line and followed virtually the same trends as the unattached single considered employable. After slight increases through the mid-2010s and declines in the early 2020s, as well as similar changes after the three rebasings, the welfare income of this household ended the time series in 2025 at only 55 per cent of the Poverty Line.
Overall, the total welfare income of the unattached single with a disability (MBFE) declined by 12 percentage points relative to the Poverty Line across the entire time series. Their income was also below the Deep Income Poverty threshold across the entire time series, meaning that households in these circumstances would have experienced a deepening of their already very deep poverty over the last 24 years.
The welfare income of the unattached single with a disability (MSPD) was 62 per cent of the Poverty Line in 2025, up from 61 per cent in 2023. Households in these circumstances would have lived in deep poverty since the inception of the MSPD program.
Figure 6MB: Welfare incomes as a percentage of the MBM for example households with children in Manitoba, 2002–2025
The total welfare income of the single parent with one child started the time series at 73 per cent of the Poverty Line. After the 2008 rebasing, their income declined to 67 per cent, reaching a low of 61 per cent in 2013 and 2014, then increasing to a high of 83 per cent in 2017. After the 2018 rebasing, their income fell to 70 percent, increased to 76 per cent in 2020 and 2021, and declined to 70 per cent in 2022. After the 2023 rebasing, their income fell slightly to 69 per cent, remained at about the same level over the following two years, and ended the time series at 69 per cent of the Poverty Line in 2025.
Overall, the total welfare income of the single parent with one child declined relative to the Poverty Line by 4 percentage points. Their income was also below the Deep Income Poverty threshold in all but three years across the time series, meaning that households in these circumstances would have lived in deep poverty for most of the last 24 years.
The total welfare income of the couple with two children also started the time series at 73 per cent of the Poverty Line in 2002 and largely mirrored the income trends of the single parent with one child across the entire time series, with similar changes after all three rebasings. Their welfare income ended the time series at 66 per cent of the Poverty Line in 2025.
Overall, the total welfare income of the couple with two children was 7 percentage points lower at the end of the time series relative to the Poverty Line than it was at the start. Their income was also below the Deep Income Poverty threshold for all but five years of the time series, meaning that households in these circumstances would have lived in deep poverty for most of the last 24 years.
Access to data
The data for Manitoba is available for download, including:
- Components of welfare income for all households, including the 2024-2025 difference in carbon tax-related rebate payments.
- Welfare incomes in 2025 constant dollars over time for all households.
- Welfare incomes in current 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 2002–2025.