In this section you will find:
Components of welfare incomes
In the Northwest Territories, households that qualify for basic social assistance payments also qualify for:
- Recurring additional social assistance payments from the territory,
- Federal and territorial child benefits for households with children, and
- Federal and territorial 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 example households in the Northwest Territories received additional payments from the federal government related to the increased cost of living due to high inflation. These payments are included where applicable in the table below.
Table 1NT shows the value of the welfare income components of the four example household types in the Northwest Territories in 2023. All four households are assumed to be living in Yellowknife, receiving territorial 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 1NT: Components of welfare incomes for all example households in the Northwest Territories, 2023
Total annual welfare incomes in 2023 ranged from $27,600 for the unattached single considered employable to $52,905 for the couple with two children. The income of the unattached single with a disability was $33,939 and that of the single parent with one child was $40,489.
Basic social assistance: The food allowance amount remained unchanged in 2023: households with one adult received $343 per month and those with two adults received $480 per month. The clothing allowance, which provided $79 per month to a one-adult household and $110 to a couple household, also remained unchanged.
In the Northwest Territories, the benefits paid for the costs of shelter, fuel, and utilities are based on the actual costs of each recipient household. The accommodation allowance amount included in our calculations is a maximum based on average market rents that are calculated annually by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. These amounts increased in 2023 for all four households. The fuel and utilities components are an average of the amount paid to recipients in each of the household types in 2023, and are provided by the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. These average amounts increased significantly in 2023 for all households, as these averages fluctuate based on the real costs of utilities provided to recipients from year to year.
All four households continued to receive the Furnishing Allowance in 2023 due to a 2020 policy decision to enroll all clients in the “Wellness: Self-Care” Productive Choice activity option in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The unattached singles received $175, the single parent with one child received $323, and the couple with two children received $567. These amounts were unchanged in 2023.
Additional social assistance: Only the unattached single with a disability received additional social assistance benefits, in the form of both the Disabled Allowance of $405 per month and the Incidental Allowance for Persons with Disabilities of $39 per month. These amounts also remained unchanged in 2023.
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. The couple with two children received a reduced amount of $945.64 for the January through June period but received the full $1,045.83 for the July through December period, based on prior years’ income.
Territorial child benefits: Both households with children received the Northwest Territories Child Benefit. The single parent with one child received the maximum amount of $67.91 per month (i.e., the amount provided for one child under the age of six). The couple with two children received a reduced amount, due to their income in prior years, of $85.70 per month from January to June, and $90.81 per month from July to December. The maximum amounts for this benefit 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.
Three households also received the GST/HST credit supplement. The unattached single considered employable, the unattached single with a disability, and the single parent with one child each received the 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. The unattached single households both received $233.50, the single parent with one child received $386.50, and the couple with two children received $467.
Territorial tax credits/benefits: All four households received the Northwest Territories Cost-of-Living Offset, which helps offset the cost of the NWT carbon tax. Households received four quarterly payments in 2023: two for the 2022–2023 benefit year in the total amount of $130 per adult and $150 per child under 18, and two for the 2023–2024 benefit year in the total amount of $220.50 per adult and $246.50 per child under 18. The latter amounts were specific to Yellowknife, as these payments began to be calculated based on three postal code zones starting in July 2023.
Cost-of-living payments
As mentioned earlier, all four households received payments from the federal government related to the higher cost of living resulting from high inflation in 2023. 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 2NT: Cost-of-living payments for all example households in the Northwest Territories, 2023
Changes to welfare incomes
Figures 1NT and 2NT show how the total welfare incomes for each of the four example household types in the Northwest Territories 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 the Northwest Territories would result in a slightly different trendline.
Figure 1NT: Welfare incomes for example unattached single households in the Northwest Territories 1986–2023, in 2023 constant dollars
The welfare incomes of the unattached single considered employable and the unattached single with a disability followed a nearly identical pattern since the time series began in 1993. A substantial decline in 1997 was followed by a gradual increasing trend until 2008 and a slight decrease thereafter until 2013. Large fluctuations followed until 2018, which were the result of the way that utility and shelter costs were calculated for the purposes of this report rather than changes to benefit program policy. Increases through 2020 resulted in the high point for both households’ incomes. Decreases through 2022 were followed by slight increases in 2023.
Increases between 2018 and 2020 were due to three main changes: (1) a significant increase in utilities costs in the Northwest Territories and a corresponding increase in the average amounts paid for those costs; (2) a 2019 increase in maximum shelter amounts; and (3) the implementation of the NWT Cost-of-Living Offset and COVID-19 pandemic-related payments from both territorial and federal sources. The decline in 2021 was primarily due to the loss of most of those payments, and, in the case of the unattached single with a disability, a decline in average monthly utilities amounts. The decline in 2022 was largely due to the much lower average utilities amount (see the Components of welfare incomes section), as well as to the impact of high inflation on benefit rates. The increase in 2023 was largely due to a rebound in average monthly utilities amounts for each of the households.
In 2023, the welfare income of the unattached single considered employable was $27,600, which is a 2 per cent increase compared to 2022 and an increase of 30 per cent since the start of the time series in constant 2023 dollars. The welfare income of the unattached single with a disability was $33,939, which is a 3 per cent increase compared to 2022 and an increase of 41 per cent since the start of the time series in constant 2023 dollars.
Figure 2NT: Welfare incomes for example households with children in the Northwest Territories 1986–2023, in 2023 constant dollars
After a decline in their total welfare incomes through the 1990s, the households with children saw increases in 1999, followed by a lengthy period of relative stability with some fluctuations (especially for the single parent with one child) until 2013–2014. The major drop in 2007 was primarily the result of a significant decline in the level of basic social assistance benefits in that year. After 2014, a generally increasing trend lasted until 2020, which was the high point for both households across the time series. Two years of declines through 2022 were followed by increases in 2023.
Increases after 2015 were largely due to changes in federal child benefits, while those in 2020 resulted from the addition of COVID-19 pandemic-related payments from both territorial and federal sources. Declines in 2021 primarily resulted from the loss of COVID-19 pandemic-related supports, as well as the impact of inflation on unchanged social assistance benefit amounts. The steeper drop in 2022 resulted from the loss of pandemic-related supports available to the single parent in 2021, a significant decline in the average utilities amounts (see the Components of welfare incomes section), and the impact of high inflation. The increases in 2023 were largely the result of a rebound in average monthly utilities amounts for each of the households.
In 2023, the single parent with one child had a welfare income of $40,489, which is a 4 per cent increase compared to 2022 and a 6 per cent increase since the start of the time series in constant 2023 dollars. The couple with two children had a welfare income of $52,905, which is a 6 per cent increase compared to 2022 and a 14 per cent increase since 1993, in constant 2023 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. The Market Basket Measure (MBM) was adopted as Canada’s Official Poverty Line in 2018; however, to recognize the specificity of various aspects of life in the North, the Government of Canada subsequently designated the Northern Market Basket Measure (MBM-N) as the official Poverty Line for the territories.
We use two measures of poverty to assess the adequacy of total welfare incomes in the Northwest Territories:
- The Northern Market Basket Measure (MBM-N), Canada’s Official Poverty Line for the territories, 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-N-DIP) threshold identifies households in the territories whose disposable income is less than 75 per cent of the MBM-N.
Note that MBM-N thresholds vary by territory and community size. As such, we use the thresholds for the territory’s largest city, Yellowknife, in the analysis below.
Note also that although we use the Low Income Measure (LIM) and the Low Income Cut-Off (LICO) for adequacy comparisons in the provinces, they do not appropriately reflect life in the North. Thus, as in past reports, we do not use those measures to provide adequacy comparisons for households in the territories.
As well, note that none of the poverty 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 the Northwest Territories with the two poverty thresholds is available for download.
Poverty threshold comparisons
The welfare incomes of all four example household types in the Northwest Territories were below Canada’s Official Poverty Line (MBM-N) in 2023, meaning that all four households were living in poverty. However, the welfare incomes of all four households were at or above the Deep Income Poverty threshold (MBM-N-DIP), which means that none of the households was living in deep poverty in 2023.
Figures 3NT and 4NT compare 2023 welfare incomes for the four example household types to the 2023 MBM-N and MBM-N-DIP thresholds for Yellowknife.
Figure 3NT: Welfare incomes and poverty thresholds for example unattached single households in the Northwest Territories, 2023
The welfare income of the unattached single considered employable was $1,240 above the Deep Income Poverty threshold but $7,547 below the Poverty Line. This means their income was 105 per cent of the MBM-N-DIP but only 79 per cent of the MBM-N.
The welfare income of the unattached single with a disability was most adequate relative to the poverty thresholds among the four households. Their welfare income was $7,579 above the Deep Income Poverty threshold and $1,208 below the Poverty Line. This means their income was 129 per cent of the MBM-N-DIP and 97 per cent of the MBM-N.
Note that the poverty experienced by people with disabilities is underrepresented because neither the MBM-N nor the MBM-N-DIP account for the additional costs associated with disability. See the methodology section for more information.
Figure 4NT: Welfare incomes and poverty thresholds for example households with children in the Northwest Territories, 2023
The welfare income of the single parent with one child was $3,210 above the Deep Income Poverty threshold but $9,217 below the Poverty Line. This means their income was 109 per cent of the MBM-N-DIP but 81 per cent of the MBM-N.
The couple with two children had the least adequate income relative to the poverty thresholds. Their welfare income was $184 above the Deep Income Poverty threshold and $17,389 below the Poverty Line. This means their income was 100 per cent of the MBM-N-DIP and 75 per cent of the MBM-N.
Changes to adequacy of welfare incomes
Figures 5NT and 6NT show the total welfare incomes of each of the four example household types in the Northwest Territories as a percentage of the MBM-N, starting in 2018.
The black line at the top of the graphs (i.e., the 100 per cent threshold) represents the MBM-N, which is Canada’s Official Poverty Line for the North. This means that the graphs show the relationship between the four households’ total welfare incomes and the Poverty Line over the past 6 years.
The grey line indicates the Deep Income Poverty threshold, which is 75 per cent of the MBM-N. The graphs therefore also show the relationship between total welfare incomes and deep poverty in each year over the past 6 years.
The trendlines in these graphs demonstrate changes in the example households’ levels of poverty across the six-year time series. A rise in the trendline indicates an improvement in their level of poverty while a decline indicates a deepening of their poverty.
Note that MBM-N thresholds vary by territory and community size. The MBM-N thresholds used here are for Yellowknife. More information is in the methodology section.
Figure 5NT: Welfare incomes as a percentage of the MBM-N for example unattached single households in the Northwest Territories, 2018–2023
The income of the unattached single considered employable started the six-year time series at 74 per cent of the Poverty Line in 2018, moving to a high point of 89 per cent of the Poverty Line in 2020, and ending the time series at 79 per cent in 2023.
Overall, the income of the unattached single considered employable increased by five percentage points relative to the Poverty Line across the time series. Although this is an improvement, the household was still living below the Poverty Line across the entire six-year period. It is notable, however, that this household’s total income was above the Deep Income Poverty threshold for 5 of the past 6 years, which means that although they were living in poverty, they were not living in deep poverty for most of the time series.
The Income of the unattached single with a disability was most adequate relative to the Poverty Line of the four example households and followed the same trajectory as that of the unattached single considered employable. Their income started the time series at 92 per cent of the Poverty Line, increasing to a peak of 109 per cent in 2020, and ending the time series at 97 per cent in 2023.
Overall, the income of the unattached single with a disability increased by 5 percentage points between 2018 and 2023, which is a slight improvement in the depth of their poverty. It is important to note that this household’s income was not below the Deep Income Poverty threshold in any of the six years and was above the Poverty Line for three of those years. This means that this household was not living in deep poverty in any of the last six years, and that the household was living out of poverty for half of those years. Unfortunately, despite the progress made between 2019 and 2021, this household fell back into poverty in 2022.
Figure 6NT: Welfare incomes as a percentage of the MBM-N for households with children in the Northwest Territories, 2018–2023
The welfare income of the single parent with one child started the time series at 81 per cent of the Poverty Line, increased to 89 per cent in 2020, and ended the six-year time series in 2023 at 81 per cent of the Poverty Line.
Overall, despite improvements between 2019 and 2021, the income of the single parent with one child remained the same relative to the Poverty Line over the six-year period, indicating no progress on the depth of their poverty. It is notable, however, that this household’s total income was above the Deep Income Poverty threshold in every year, which means that although they were living in poverty, they were not living in deep poverty in any of the last six years.
The total welfare income of the couple with two children was least adequate relative to the Poverty Line of the four example households. Their income started the time series in 2018 at 76 per cent of the Poverty Line, increased to 82 per cent in 2020, and ended the time series in 2023 at 75 per cent.
Overall, the income of the couple with two children decreased by 1 percentage point relative to the Poverty Line over the six-year period. This indicates a slight deepening of their poverty. As well, this household’s total income was above the Deep Income Poverty threshold in the first four years of the time series, fell below the threshold in 2022, and then rose to the level of the threshold in 2023, which means that although they were living in poverty for the past six years, they were in or at the threshold of deep poverty in two of those years.
Access to data
The data for the Northwest Territories is available for download, including:
- Components of welfare income for all households, with a breakdown of cost of living-related 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: Comparisons of the welfare incomes of each household with the two poverty thresholds applicable in the North.
- Adequacy over time: Welfare income relative to the Official Poverty Line (MBM-N) for each household from 2018–2023.