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.

In 2022, the example households 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 1MB shows the value of the welfare income components of the four example household types in Manitoba in 2022. All four 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, 2022

Total annual welfare incomes in 2022 ranged from $10,252 for the unattached single considered employable to $34,103 for the couple with two children. The unattached single with a disability received $14,125 and the single parent with one child received $25,182.

Basic social assistance: Monthly Basic Necessities amounts for the unattached single households increased in November 2022 by $50 per month for the unattached single considered employable and $25 per month for the unattached single with a disability. Amounts for households with children remained unchanged in 2022.

In July 2022, Rent Assist benefits were increased for all households receiving social assistance. The unattached single considered employable received $578 per month for the first six months of the year and $596 monthly for the second six months; the unattached single with a disability received $657 and $673; and the single parent with one child and the couple with two children received $930 and $971.

Note that this report is the first to include Rent Assist benefits as “basic social assistance” rather than “additional social assistance”. This new classification of Rent Assist benefits is the result of discussions with provincial officials and better reflects the actual administration of these benefits in Manitoba.

Additional social assistance: The unattached single with a disability received the Income Assistance for Persons with Disabilities benefit of $1,260 ($105 per month) and 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 2022.

Federal child benefits: Both households with children received the Canada Child Benefit (CCB), which increased with inflation in July 2022 from $569.42 to $583.08 per month for a child under six years of age and from $480.41 to $491.91 per month for a child aged six to 17.

The COVID-19 pandemic-related CCB Young Child Supplement of $1,200 that the single-parent household received in 2021 was not available in 2022.

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 four households received the GST/HST credit, which increased in July 2022 with inflation. The unattached single considered employable and the unattached single with a disability received $302.50 in basic GST/HST credit, while the single parent with one child received $605 and the couple with two children received $923. The unattached single with a disability also received the GST/HST credit supplement in the amount of $60.13 while the single parent with one child received the maximum amount of $159.

All four households received a one-time GST credit payment related to the increased cost of living due to high inflation, paid in November 2022. The unattached single considered employable received $153, the unattached single with a disability received $183.52, the single parent with one child received $386.50, and the couple with two children received $467.

All four households received the federal climate action incentive (CAI) payment, which began being paid quarterly rather than annually in 2022. The unattached single considered employable and the unattached single with a disability received the basic CAI payment amount for Manitoba of $312. The single parent with one child received the basic amount plus the single parent’s qualified dependant amount, for a total of $468. The couple with two children received the basic amount, the spousal amount, and the qualified dependant amount for each child, for a total of $624. The CAI decreased in 2022 compared to 2021 amounts due to the switch to quarterly payments.

Provincial tax credits/benefits: No provincial tax credits or benefits were available to the unattached single households in 2022. However, households with children received the Family Affordability Benefit of $250 for the first child and $200 for the second child, which was a one-time payment issued in fall 2022, meaning that the single parent received $250 and the couple with two children received $450.

Cost-of-living payments

As mentioned above, all four households received payments from both provincial and federal sources related to the higher cost of living resulting from high inflation in 2022. The provincial Family Affordability Benefit was a one-time payment provided in fall 2022 to households with children, who received $250 for the first child and $200 for each additional child. The federal one-time GST credit payment was paid in November 2022 and was equivalent to the two regular GST credit (and credit supplement if applicable) payments received in the latter half of 2022.

Note that the increase to basic necessities amounts for unattached singles (i.e., $50 for the unattached single considered employable and $25 for the unattached single with a disability) was announced as an inflation-related measure; however, it is not included in Table 2MB as it is an ongoing increase to monthly benefit rates and not a one-time payment.

Table 2MB: Cost-of-living payments for all example households in Manitoba, 2022

Changes to welfare incomes

Figures 1MB and 2MB show how the total welfare incomes for each of the four example household types in Manitoba have changed over time. Note that the values are in 2022 constant dollars, not real dollars. Using constant dollars takes into account the effect of inflation, as measured by the national Consumer Price Index, given that inflation reduces real dollar values over time.

Figure 1MB: Welfare incomes for example unattached single households in Manitoba 1986–2022, 2022 constant dollars

The total welfare income of the unattached single considered employable declined steadily from its peak in 1991 until 2007. Small gains were made through to 2013, after which an increase continued until 2017; this was largely the result of enhancements to Manitoba’s Rent Assist program. The increase in 2020 was primarily due to the federal climate action incentive benefit and new federal 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. Their total welfare income of $10,252 in 2022 represents a nine per cent decrease compared to 2021 in constant dollars.

The welfare income of the unattached single with a disability followed a similar trajectory: a peak in 1992, then decreasing – first sharply, then gradually – until 2013. Increases thereafter were primarily the result of enhancements to Manitoba’s Rent Assist program. The sharper increase in 2020 was due to pandemic-related payments and the federal climate action incentive benefit, while the decreases in 2021 and 2022 were largely due to the loss of pandemic-related payments and the effects of high inflation. Their total welfare income of $14,125 in 2022 represents a nine per cent decrease in constant dollars compared to 2021.

Figure 2MB: Welfare incomes for example households with children in Manitoba 1986–2022, 2022 constant dollars

The welfare income of the single parent with one child saw a peak in 1992, followed by a long period of relative stasis until 2014. Starting in 2015, their income began to increase. The sharp increase in 2020 was primarily due to federal COVID-19 pandemic-related payments, as well as the federal climate action incentive benefit. The decline in 2022 to $25,182 was primarily due to the loss of pandemic-related payments as well as the effects of high inflation and represents a decrease of 12 per cent compared to 2021 in constant dollars.

The total welfare income of the couple with two children followed a similar trajectory across the time series, although at a much higher level. A high through the 1990s was followed by a long period of relative stasis until 2014, at which point the income began to rise. The declines in 2020 and 2021 were primarily due to the loss of COVID-19 pandemic-related payments and the effects of high inflation. The total welfare income of $34,103 in 2022 represents a decline of eight per cent in constant dollars compared to 2021.

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.

As mentioned in the Introduction, there are two commonly used measures of poverty 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. As well, the LIM thresholds for 2022 are estimates based on increasing the 2021 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 four example household types in Manitoba with all four poverty/low-income thresholds is available for download.

Poverty threshold comparisons

Figures 3MB and 4MB compare 2022 welfare incomes for the four example household types to the 2022 MBM and MBM-DIP thresholds for Winnipeg.

The welfare incomes of all four example household types in Manitoba were below, and in some cases far below, Canada’s Official Poverty Line in 2022, and all four were below the MBM-DIP. This means that all four Manitoba households were not only living in poverty in 2022, they were living in deep poverty.

Figure 3MB: Welfare incomes and poverty thresholds for example unattached single households in Manitoba, 2022

The unattached single considered employable had the lowest income relative to the poverty thresholds. Their income was $8,852 below the Deep Income Poverty threshold and $15,220 below the Poverty Line. This means their income was only 54 per cent of the MBM-DIP and only 40 per cent of the MBM.

The unattached single with a disability fared better, with an income that was $4,978 below the Deep Income Poverty threshold and $11,346 below the Poverty Line. This means their income was 74 per cent of the MBM-DIP and 55 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.

Figure 4MB: Welfare incomes and poverty thresholds for example households with children in Manitoba, 2022

The incomes of households with children were higher relative to the poverty thresholds than those of single people.

The income of the single parent with one child was $1,831 below the Deep Income Poverty threshold and $10,835 below the Poverty Line. This means their income was 93 per cent of the MBM-DIP and 70 per cent of the MBM.

The income of the couple with two children was $4,104 below the Deep Income Poverty threshold and $16,839 below the Poverty Line. This means their income was 89 per cent of the MBM-DIP and 67 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 table linked above.

The lowest income relative to the thresholds was that of the unattached single considered employable, whose total welfare income was only 35 per cent of the LIM and 42 per cent of the LICO. The highest was that of the single parent with one child, whose welfare income was 61 per cent of the LIM and 85 per cent of the LICO.

The unattached single with a disability had an income of only 48 per cent of the LIM and 58 per cent of the LICO. The income of the couple with two children was 58 per cent of the LIM and 74 per cent of the LICO.

Changes to adequacy of welfare incomes

Figures 5MB and 6MB show the total welfare incomes of each of the four example household types in Manitoba as a percentage of the Market Basket Measure (MBM), starting in 2002.

The black line at the top of each of the graphs (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 four households’ total welfare incomes have been in each year over the past 20 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 20 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.

Note that MBM thresholds reflect the conditions in each province or territory and vary by community size. The MBM thresholds used here are for Winnipeg. More information is in the methodology section.

Figure 5MB: Welfare incomes as a percentage of the MBM for example unattached single households in Manitoba, 2002–2022

The total welfare income of the unattached single considered employable generally hovered between 40 and 45 per cent of the Poverty Line across the entire 20-year time series, after starting in 2002 at the 45 per cent level. An increase to just over 50 per cent of the Poverty Line occurred in 2016 and 2017, with declines since 2020. Their income ended the time series in 2022 at only 40 per cent of the Poverty Line.

Overall, the total welfare income of the unattached single considered employable was five percentage points lower relative to the Poverty Line in 2022 than it was in 2002, meaning that this household is living in slightly deeper poverty than it was 20 years ago. Their income was also well below the Deep Income Poverty threshold across the entire time series, meaning that they would have consistently lived in deep poverty for the last 20 years.

The welfare income of the unattached single with a disability started the time series at 67 per cent of the Poverty Line and followed virtually the same trendlines as the unattached single considered employable. After slight increases through the mid-2010s and declines in the early 2020s, the welfare income of this household ended the time series in 2022 at only 55 per cent of the Poverty Line.

Overall, the total welfare income of the unattached single with a disability declined by twelve percentage points relative to the Poverty Line across the entire time series, which represents a significant deepening of their poverty over the past 20 years. 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 20 years.

Figure 6MB: Welfare incomes as a percentage of the MBM for example households with children in Manitoba, 2002–2022

The total welfare income of the single parent with one child started the time series at 73 per cent of the Poverty Line. Between 2008 and 2017 their income declined to a low of 61 per cent in 2013 and 2014, then increased to a high of 83 per cent in 2017. Since 2018, their income increased to 76 per cent, but declined after 2021, ending the time series at 70 per cent of the Poverty Line in 2022.

Overall, the total welfare income of the single parent with one child declined relative to the Poverty Line by three percentage points, meaning that they were living in slightly worse circumstances in 2022 than they were in 2002. In addition, the income of the single parent with one child was below the Deep Income Poverty threshold for most of the time series, meaning that they would have consistently lived in deep poverty for most of the last 20 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, virtually mirroring the income of the single parent with one child across the entire time series, with a similar high in the late 2010s. Their welfare income ended the time series at 67 per cent of the Poverty Line in 2022.

Overall, the total welfare income of the couple with two children was six percentage points lower at the end of the time series relative to the Poverty Line than it was at the start, which means this household was living in deeper poverty in 2022 than it was in 2002. As well, the income of the couple with two children was below the deep income poverty for most of the time series, meaning that they would have consistently lived in deep poverty for most of the last 20 years.

Access to data

The data for Manitoba is available for download, including:

1. Components of welfare income for all households, with a breakdown of cost-of-living payments.
2. Welfare incomes in 2022 constant dollars over time for all households.
3. Welfare incomes in real dollars over time for all households.
4. Adequacy of welfare incomes: a comparison of each household’s welfare income with all four poverty and low-income thresholds.
5. Adequacy over time: each household’s welfare income relative to the Official Poverty Line (MBM) from 2002–2022.