In this section you will find:
Components of welfare incomes
In New Brunswick, 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 and provincial 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 the example households in New Brunswick 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 1NB shows the value of the welfare income components of the four example household types in New Brunswick in 2023. All four households are assumed to be living in Moncton, 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 1NB: Components of welfare incomes for all example households in New Brunswick, 2023
Total annual welfare incomes in 2023 ranged from $8,690 for the unattached single considered employable to $30,395 for the couple with two children. The total welfare income of the unattached single with a disability was $11,648 and that of the single parent with one child was $22,985.
Basic social assistance: The unattached single considered employable and the households with children received Transitional Assistance (TA) benefits, and the unattached single with a disability received Extended Benefits (EB). Basic TA and EB benefit amounts were indexed to inflation in 2020 and therefore increased with inflation as of April 1, 2023. More details about indexing are available in the <Indexed Benefits section>.
Additional social assistance: On top of basic social assistance, three households received recurring additional benefits. The unattached single with a disability received $1,100 ($100 per month) through the Disability Supplement between January and November; the Disability Supplement was incorporated into the basic Extended Benefits amount starting in December. The households with children received the Income Supplement Benefit of $1,224 (an average of $102 per month), the amount of which remained unchanged in 2023.
All households received a one-time additional benefit related to the increased cost of living due to high inflation. The Emergency Food and Fuel Benefit was provided in January/February 2023 in the amount of $225 for individuals and $450 for families. This benefit was an extension of a similar benefit provided in 2022.
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 New Brunswick Child Tax Benefit of $250 per child ($20.83 per child per month). This amount remained unchanged in 2023.
Federal tax credits/benefits: All four households received the GST/HST credit, which increased in July 2023 with inflation. The unattached single considered employable and the unattached single with a disability 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. The single parent with one child also received the GST/HST credit supplement maximum 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. Both unattached single households received $153, the single parent with one child received $386.50, and the couple with two children received $467.
Starting in July 2023, residents of New Brunswick became eligible for federal climate action incentive (CAI) payments. Both unattached single households received $184, the single parent with one child received $276, and the couple with two children received $368.
Provincial tax credits/benefits: All four households received the New Brunswick Harmonized Sales Tax Credit ($300 per year for the unattached singles, $600 for the single parent with one child, and $800 for the couple with two children). In addition, the household with two children received the School Supplement tax credit of $100 per child per year. These amounts remained unchanged in 2023.
Cost-of-living payments
As mentioned earlier, all four households received payments from both the provincial and federal governments related to the increased cost of living resulting from high inflation in 2023. The provincial Emergency Food and Fuel Benefit was a one-time payment provided in January/February 2023 in the amount of $225 for individuals and $450 for families. 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 2NB: Cost-of-living payments for all example households in New Brunswick, 2023
Changes to welfare incomes
Figures 1NB and 2NB show how the total welfare incomes of the four example household types in New Brunswick 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 New Brunswick would result in a slightly different trendline.
Figure 1NB: Welfare incomes for example unattached single households in New Brunswick 1986–2023, in 2023 constant dollars
The total welfare income of the unattached single considered employable remained relatively flat between 1986 and 2009, hovering between $5,022 and $6,229. A significant increase occurred in 2010 due to a policy change that made unattached singles eligible for higher benefits through Transitional Assistance. From 2010 to 2019, their total welfare income gradually declined. An increase in 2020 was largely due to COVID-19 pandemic-related payments. The decline in 2021, due largely to the loss of those payments, was followed by two years of slight increases, from $8,319 in 2021 to $8,690 in 2023. Overall, in constant 2023 dollars, between 2022 and 2023 this household’s income increased by 4 per cent while across the entire time series it increased by 59 per cent.
The total welfare Income of the unattached single with a disability started the time series at $15,622 in 1989 and declined until 1994, after which it fell by more than $3,000. Thereafter, their welfare income stayed relatively stable at around $11,700. The increase in 2020 was largely due to COVID-19 pandemic-related payments, and the decline in 2021 was largely due to the loss of those payments. Another slight decrease in 2022, due largely to high inflation, was followed by a slight increase to $11,648 in 2023. Overall, the total welfare income of this household decreased by 25 per cent across the entire time series and increased by 3 per cent between 2022 and 2023 in constant 2023 dollars.
Figure 2NB: Welfare incomes for example households with children in New Brunswick 1986–2023, in 2023 constant dollars
The total welfare income of the single parent with one child saw three successively higher plateaus in the years between 1986 and 2012, with notable increases in 1995 and 2007 followed by relatively flat periods. A generally increasing trend between 2012 and 2017, primarily due to changes in federal child benefits, was followed by two years of declines. A significant increase in 2020, largely due to COVID-19 pandemic-related payments, was followed by a slight decline in 2021 as most of those payments ceased, and a larger decline in 2022, resulting from the loss of the last remaining COVID-19 payment and the impact of high inflation. A slight increase to $22,985 followed in 2023, which represents a 2 per cent increase compared to 2022 in constant 2023 dollars. Across the entire time series, the total welfare income of this household increased by 21 per cent in constant 2023 dollars.
The total welfare income of the couple with two children followed a similarly plateaued trendline between 1986 and 2012, with a higher starting income and some larger increases. As with the single-parent household, the gradually increasing trend between 2012 and 2017 was primarily due to changes to the federal child benefit. Declines between 2017 and 2019 were followed by a steep increase in 2020 resulting from COVID-19 pandemic-related payments. A large decline in 2021, due to the loss of those payments, was followed by two years of fairly stable welfare incomes. The total welfare income of this household ended the time series at $30,395, which represents a 2 per cent increase compared to 2022. As well, the total welfare income of this household increased by 33 per cent across the time series.
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.
Two measures of low income are also commonly used:
- 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, Moncton, 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 four example household types in New Brunswick with all four poverty/low-income thresholds is available for download.
Poverty threshold comparisons
The welfare incomes of all four example household types in New Brunswick were below, and in some cases very far below, Canada’s Official Poverty Line (MBM) in 2023. As well, all four were below the Deep Income Poverty threshold (MBM-DIP). This means that all four New Brunswick households were living not only in poverty in 2023, but in deep poverty.
Figures 3NB and 4NB compare welfare incomes of the four example household types to the 2023 MBM and MBM-DIP thresholds for Moncton.
Figure 3NB: Welfare incomes and poverty thresholds for example unattached single households in New Brunswick, 2023
The unattached single considered employable had the least adequate income relative to the poverty thresholds. Their income was $10,466 below the Deep Income Poverty threshold and $16,851 below the Poverty Line. As such, their income was only 45 per cent of the MBM-DIP and only 34 per cent of the MBM.
The unattached single with a disability had an income that was $7,508 below the Deep Income Poverty threshold and $13,893 below the Poverty Line. As such, their income was 61 per cent of the MBM-DIP and 46 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 4NB: Welfare incomes and poverty thresholds for example households with children in New Brunswick, 2023
The incomes of the two households with children were more adequate than the incomes of the unattached single households, but nonetheless were below both poverty thresholds.
The single parent with one child had the most adequate income relative to the poverty thresholds. Their income was $4,106 below the Deep Income Poverty threshold and $13,136 below the Poverty Line. This means their income was 85 per cent of the MBM-DIP and 64 per cent of the MBM.
The income of the couple with two children was less adequate, at $7,916 below the Deep Income Poverty threshold and $20,687 below the Poverty Line. This means their income was 79 per cent of the MBM-DIP and 60 per cent of the MBM.
Low-income threshold comparisons
The welfare incomes of the example households in New Brunswick were well below the low-income thresholds. In one instance, the welfare income was less than one-third of the threshold. The data is available in the table linked below.
The least adequate income relative to these thresholds was that of the unattached single considered employable, whose total welfare income was only 29 per cent of the LIM and 41 per cent of the LICO. The most adequate was that of the single parent with one child, whose welfare income was 54 per cent of the LIM and 88 per cent of the LICO.
The unattached single with a disability had an income that was 39 per cent of the LIM and 54 per cent of the LICO. The income of the couple with two children was 51 per cent of the LIM and 75 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 5NB and 6NB show the total welfare incomes of each of the four example household types in New Brunswick 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 the Poverty Line the four 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 Moncton. More information is in the methodology section.
Figure 5NB: Welfare incomes as a percentage of the MBM for example unattached single households in New Brunswick, 2002–2023
Of the four example households, the welfare income of the unattached single considered employable was the least adequate relative to the Poverty Line across the time series. In 2002, their income was only 26 per cent of the Poverty Line and remained at about that level through to 2008. After a significant improvement in 2010, their income hovered at around 40 per cent of the Poverty Line until 2018. A small decline after the 2018 rebasing saw their income end the time series in 2023 at only 33 per cent.
Overall, the income of the unattached single considered employable increased by only 7 percentage points relative to the Poverty Line across the entire time series, from 26 to 33 per cent. Although this is an improvement, the household was still living substantially below the Poverty Line in 2023, with a total income of only one-third of the Poverty Line. Their income was also 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 welfare income of the unattached single with a disability started the time series at 60 per cent of the Poverty Line. After a gradual decrease relative to the Poverty Line after each MBM rebasing, their welfare income ended the time series in 2023 at 45 per cent of the Poverty Line.
Overall, the income of the unattached single with a disability declined by 15 percentage points relative to the Poverty Line across the time series. This represents a significant deepening of their poverty over the past 22 years. Given that their income was below the Deep Income Poverty threshold across the entire time series, they would have also consistently lived in deep income poverty throughout the entire 22-year period.
Figure 6NB: Welfare incomes as a percentage of the MBM for example households with children in New Brunswick, 2002–2023
Of the four example households, the welfare income of the single parent with one child was the most adequate relative to the Poverty Line, starting the time series at 72 per cent. After some variation with each MBM rebasing, their income ended the time series at 63 per cent of the Poverty Line in 2023.
Overall, the income of the single parent with one child declined relative to the Poverty Line by 9 percentage points over the 22-year period. Their income was below the Poverty Line across the entire time series, and below the Deep Income Poverty threshold for most of the time series, only rising above deep poverty in three of the last 22 years.
The welfare income of the couple with two children started the time series at 65 per cent of the Poverty Line in 2002 and increased to a high of 74 per cent in 2017. Their welfare income ended the time series at only 59 per cent of the Poverty Line in 2023.
Overall, the income of the couple with two children declined by 6 percentage points relative to the Poverty Line across the time series, indicating a deepening of their poverty over the past 22 years. In addition, their income was below the Deep Income Poverty threshold across the entire time series, meaning that they have consistently lived in deep poverty for the last 22 years.
Access to data
The data for New Brunswick 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 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 2002–2023.