In this section you will find:
Components of welfare incomes
In Newfoundland and Labrador, 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 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 1NL shows the value of the welfare income components of the four example household types in Newfoundland and Labrador in 2025. All four households are assumed to be living in St. John’s, 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 1NL: Components of welfare incomes for all example households in Newfoundland and Labrador, 2025
Note: Amounts in the table are rounded to the nearest dollar and, as such, totals may not exactly add up.
Total annual welfare incomes in 2025 ranged from $12,962 for the unattached single considered employable to $37,998 for the couple with two children. The income of the unattached single with a disability was $20,840 and that of the single parent with one child was $29,251.
Basic social assistance: Monthly Basic and Shelter benefits were restructured in 2025.
The Basic Benefit was standardized at a monthly rate of $561 per adult, regardless of living arrangements, as of September 1. The amount for unattached singles remained unchanged at $561. The amount for the single parent with one child dropped from $729, necessitating the creation of a monthly $168 Single Parent Supplement to maintain their previous benefit level. The amount for the couple with two children rose from $779 to $1,122, which is a 44 per cent increase, because they each received $561 rather than the reduced amount for couples they received in previous years.
The Shelter Benefit was also standardized at a monthly rate of $522 for one-adult households and $299 each for two-adult households ($598 total), regardless of their relationship, as of September 1. As a result, the monthly amount for the unattached single considered employable rose from $299 to $522, which is a 75 per cent increase. The amount for the single parent with one child remained unchanged at $522. The amount for the couple with two children increased from $522 to $598, which is a 14.5 per cent increase. Given that the unattached single with a disability receives a Personal Care Allowance and rent and utilities top-ups from the Department of Health and Community Services (see below), their monthly Shelter Benefit amount remained unchanged at $149.
The unattached single considered employable, the single parent with one child, and the couple with two children also received the Fuel Supplement of $71 per month, which remained unchanged in 2025.
Additional social assistance: The unattached single with a disability received $1,800 ($150 per month) through the Personal Care Allowance, which is paid by the Department of Health and Community Services (HCS) to social assistance clients who receive supportive services. This amount remained unchanged in 2025. In addition, the unattached single with a disability received top-ups from HCS of $6,600 ($550 per month) for rent and $2,400 ($200 per month) for utilities. Note that these amounts are rounded averages of top-ups provided to recipients in these household types, and that this data was provided by HCS.
In July 2025, a new Back to School benefit was created in the amount of $100 for each school-aged dependant. As a result, the couple with two children received $200.
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: Both households with children received the Newfoundland and Labrador Child Benefit, which increased with inflation in July. The single parent with one child received $152.16 per month for the first six months of the year and $155.66 per month for the last six months. The couple with two children received $313.49 per month for the first six months and $320.66 per month for the last six months.
Federal tax credits/benefits: All four households received the GST/HST credit, which increased with inflation in July. The households received the following total amounts, paid in quarterly instalments throughout the year: the 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 considered employable received the reduced amount of $1.33, the unattached single with a disability received the reduced amount of $162.64, and the single parent with one child received the maximum amount of $181.50.
All four 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 Newfoundland and Labrador received significantly reduced rebate payment amounts in 2025 compared to 2024. The differences in CCR payments between 2024 and 2025 for the Newfoundland and Labrador households are indicated in Table 2NL.
Table 2NL: Difference in carbon tax rebate payments in Newfoundland and Labrador, 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: All four households received the Newfoundland and Labrador Income Supplement. The maximum amount of the basic and additional credits, as well as the credit reduction threshold, remained unchanged in 2025. The households received the following total amounts: the unattached single considered employable received the maximum basic credit of $254, the unattached single with a disability received $714.82, the single parent with one child received $530.96, and the couple with two children received $866.82.
The single parent with one child received the Prenatal-Early Childhood Nutrition Supplement (PECNS) in a total amount of $1,800. The PECNS is a $150 monthly benefit designed to support low-income households with the extra cost of food during pregnancy and early childhood.
Changes to welfare incomes
Figures 1NL and 2NL show how the total welfare incomes for each of the four example household types in Newfoundland and Labrador 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 Newfoundland and Labrador would have resulted in a slightly different trendline.
Figure 1NL: Welfare incomes for example unattached single households in Newfoundland and Labrador 1986–2025, in 2025 constant dollars
The total welfare income of the unattached single considered employable was relatively stable between 1986 and 1995. The large decline that started in 1995 was the result of a policy change that gave recipients very low room and board allowances instead of market rent shelter benefits. After five years of several small annual increases to the room and board rate and a change in policy that provided shelter benefits that were more directly related to market rents, the total income of this household increased to a much higher level in 2002. Their income was more stable thereafter, with an initial decline followed by an increasing trend, a plateau from 2012 to 2015, and a generally declining trend through 2024, with a small uptick in 2025.
The welfare income of the unattached single with a disability generally declined from the start of the time series until 2019, with small increases in 1996–1997 and 2006–2007, and a period of stasis between 2011 and 2016. Between 2012 and 2019, the Fuel Supplement was included in the calculations of the income of the unattached single with a disability as a proxy for shelter and utilities top-ups provided by the Department of Health and Community Services (HCS). The large increase in 2020 was primarily due to the inclusion of rounded average amounts for the shelter and utilities top-ups provided by HCS, which better reflects the actual policy regime in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The 2020 increases to both households’ total incomes were also due to COVID-19 pandemic-related benefits, and the declines in 2021 were primarily due to the loss of those payments. Increases in 2022 reflect additional inflation-related cost-of-living benefits and declines in 2023 reflect the loss of those benefits. In 2024, the small decline for these households was due to the loss of the Grocery Rebate. In 2025, the slight increase to the total welfare income of the unattached single considered employable was the result of an increase in the Shelter Benefit, while the decrease for the unattached single with a disability was the result of unchanged benefit amounts and the reduction in Canada Carbon Rebate payments.
In 2025, the total welfare income of the unattached single considered employable was $12,962, which is a 3 per cent increase compared to 2024, and a 53 per cent increase since the start of the time series, in constant 2025 dollars. The total welfare income of the unattached single with a disability was $20,840, which is a 3 per cent decrease compared to 2024 but a 25 per cent increase since the start of the time series, in constant 2025 dollars.
Figure 2NL: Welfare incomes for example households with children in Newfoundland and Labrador 1986–2025, in 2025 constant dollars
The total welfare incomes of the two households with children followed a similar trajectory, starting with a notable decline between 1986 and 1989. Their incomes then hovered around the same levels, with some minor fluctuations, until 2005. After a notable uptick in 2006 that was due to an increase in the Family Benefit rate, their incomes followed a generally increasing trend through to 2017. The rise from 2015 to 2017 was largely the result of changes to federal child benefits. After a subsequent period of decline from 2017 to 2019, both incomes increased in 2020 to their highest levels, which was largely the result of federal COVID-19 pandemic-related payments. Decreases in 2021 were primarily due to the loss of those payments, while high inflation had an impact in 2022, especially on the income of the single parent with one child. In 2023, the decline for the single parent with one child and the slight decline for the couple with two children were both due to the loss of inflation-related cost-of-living payments. In 2024, the increases for both households were due to full-year increases in the Newfoundland and Labrador Child Benefit and increases in Canada Carbon Rebate (CCR) payment amounts. In 2025, the trends diverged: the welfare income of the single parent with one child decreased due to unchanged benefit amounts and the reduction in CCR payments, while the couple with two children saw their income increase due to two social assistance changes; higher Basic and Shelter benefit amounts and the new Back to School benefit.
In 2024, the welfare income of the single parent with one child was $29,251, which is a 2 per cent decrease compared to 2024, and a 22 per cent increase since the start of the time series, in constant 2025 dollars. The welfare income of the couple with two children was $37,998, which is a 3 per cent increase compared to 2024, and a 27 per cent increase since the start of 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, St. John’s, 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 four example household types in Newfoundland and Labrador with all four poverty/low-income thresholds is available for download.
Poverty threshold comparisons
The welfare incomes of all four example household types were below, and in some cases far below, Canada’s Official Poverty Line (MBM) in 2025, and two of the four were below the Deep Income Poverty threshold (MBM-DIP). This means that all four Newfoundland and Labrador households were living in poverty in 2025, and two of the four were also living in deep poverty.
Figures 3NL and 4NL compare 2025 welfare incomes for the four example household types to the 2025 MBM and MBM-DIP thresholds for St. John’s.
Figure 3NL: Welfare incomes and poverty thresholds for example unattached single households in Newfoundland and Labrador, 2025
The unattached single considered employable had the lowest income relative to the poverty thresholds. Their income was $7,231 below the Deep Income Poverty threshold and $13,962 below the Poverty Line. This means their income was 64 per cent of the MBM-DIP and only 48 per cent of the MBM.
The unattached single with a disability fared best of all four example households relative to the poverty thresholds. Their income was $647 above the Deep Income Poverty threshold, but $6,084 below the Poverty Line. This means their income was 103 per cent of the MBM-DIP but 77 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 4NL: Welfare incomes and poverty thresholds for example households with children in Newfoundland and Labrador, 2025
The single parent with one child had a welfare income that was $694 above the Deep Income Poverty threshold, and $8,825 below the Poverty Line. This means their income was 102 per cent of the MBM-DIP and 77 per cent of the MBM.
The welfare income of the couple with two children was $2,389 below the Deep Income Poverty threshold and $15,851 below the Poverty Line. This means their income was 94 per cent of the MBM-DIP and 71 per cent of the MBM.
Low-income threshold comparisons
The welfare incomes of two of the example households were below, and in one instance far below, the low-income thresholds while those of the two others were either above or below the thresholds, as shown in the spreadsheet linked below.
The lowest income relative to these thresholds was that of the unattached single considered employable, whose total welfare income was 41 per cent of the LIM and 58 per cent of the LICO. The income of the couple with two children was also low relative to the thresholds, at 59 per cent of the LIM and 90 per cent of the LICO.
The highest income relative to the LIM was that of the unattached single with a disability, at 65 per cent; their income was also 93 per cent of the LICO. The highest income relative to the LICO was that of the single parent with one child at 107 per cent; their income was also 65 per cent of the LIM.
The LIM and LICO thresholds used are for after-tax income, as noted above.
Changes to adequacy of welfare incomes
Figures 5NL and 6NL show the total welfare incomes of each of the four example household types in Newfoundland and Labrador as a percentage of the Market Basket Measure (MBM) for St. John’s, 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 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 since 2002.
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 5NL: Welfare incomes as a percentage of the MBM for example unattached single households in Newfoundland and Labrador, 2002–2025
The welfare income of the unattached single considered employable was 62 per cent of the Poverty Line in 2002. After remaining largely static for the next 16 years – hovering between 56 and 64 per cent – their income declined to around 50 per cent after the 2018 rebasing. Their income declined further after 2020 but increased slightly to 47 per cent after the 2023 rebasing. Thereafter, their income remained stable, ending the time series in 2025 at 48 per cent of the Poverty Line.
Overall, the welfare income of the unattached single considered employable was 14 percentage points lower relative to the Poverty Line in 2025 than it was in 2002; their income was also below the Deep Income Poverty threshold across the entire time series. This means that households in these circumstances would have experienced a significant deepening of their already very deep poverty over the last 24 years.
The welfare income of the unattached single with a disability started the time series in 2002 at 74 per cent of the Poverty Line. After some variation through to 2007, their income declined to around 65 per cent after the 2008 rebasing; it decreased further to about 60 per cent in 2011 and remained at that level until 2017. Another decline after the 2018 rebasing to 52 per cent was followed by a significant increase to 80 per cent of the Poverty Line in 2020; this increase was due to a methodology change used in this report (see the Changes to welfare incomes section) as well as the addition of COVID-19 pandemic-related benefits. The 2023 rebasing had no impact, as their income remained at 80 per cent of the Poverty Line, but a slight decline between 2024 and 2025 saw their income end the time series in 2025 at 77 per cent of the Poverty Line.
Overall, the welfare income of the unattached single with a disability was 3 percentage points higher in 2025 than in 2002, which represents a slight improvement in the depth of poverty experienced by households in these circumstances between 2002 and 2025. However, their income was below the Deep Income Poverty threshold for the majority of the time series, only rising slightly above the threshold after 2020. This means that households in these circumstances would have lived in deep poverty for most of the last two decades.
Figure 6NL: Welfare incomes as a percentage of the MBM for example households with children in Newfoundland and Labrador, 2002–2025
The income of the single parent with one child started the time series at 85 per cent of the Poverty Line, increasing to a high of 91 per cent in 2007. A decline to 82 per cent after the 2008 rebasing was followed by improvements between 2014 and 2017. An additional decline after the 2018 rebasing saw their income fall below the Deep Income Poverty threshold for the first time. A slight rebound to 77 per cent of the Poverty Line in 2020 was followed by three years of declines; the 2023 rebasing had no impact and their income remained at 70 per cent. An uptick in 2024 to 78 per cent was followed by a slight decline in 2025, with their income ending the time series at 77 per cent of the Poverty Line.
Overall, the welfare income of the single parent with one child was 8 percentage points lower in 2025 than it was in 2002, and it fell under the Deep Income Poverty threshold in six of the later years of the time series. This means that households in these circumstances would have seen their poverty significantly deepen over the last 24 years.
The welfare income of the couple with two children started the time series at 71 per cent of the Poverty Line and followed a similar trendline to that of the single parent with one child. After spending much of the time series below the Deep Income Poverty threshold – between 65 and 74 per cent of the MBM – their income improved to 76 per cent of the Poverty Line in 2017. It declined again after the 2018 rebasing to 65 per cent, increased in 2020 to 69 per cent, then declined again to 63 per cent in 2022. Their income increased slightly to 64 per cent after the 2023 rebasing, then increased further in 2024 and 2025, ending the time series at 71 per cent of the Poverty Line.
Overall, the welfare income of the couple with two children was at the same level relative to the Poverty Line in 2025 as it was in 2002, which means that households in these circumstances were in the same financial position relative to the Poverty Line at the end of the time series as they were at the start. This represents no improvement in the level of poverty experienced by households in these circumstances across the time series. As well, given that their income was only above the Deep Income Poverty threshold for one year, households in these circumstances would have spent most of the last 24 years living in deep poverty.
Access to data
The data for Newfoundland and Labrador 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.