In this section you will find:
Components of welfare incomes
In Nunavut, 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 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 1NU shows the value of the welfare income components of the four example household types in Nunavut in 2025. All four households are assumed to be living in Iqaluit, 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 1NU: Components of welfare incomes for all example households in Nunavut, 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 $12,426 for the unattached single considered employable to $38,569 for the couple with two children. The income of the unattached single with a disability was $15,488 and that of the single parent with one child was $22,609.
Basic social assistance: All four households received the monthly Basic Allowance and Shelter Allowance as well as the Utilities benefit.
No changes were made to Basic Allowance amounts in 2025; the unattached single households received monthly amounts of $914, the single parent with one child received $1,024, and the couple with two children received $1,840.
The Shelter Benefit amount that we use is based on rental amounts in Nunavut public housing, and this amount did not change in 2025. For all households, this amount was $60 per month.
The Utilities Benefit amount that we use is based on average monthly amounts that each example household type paid for electricity in public housing: the unattached single considered employable received $27.76, the unattached single with a disability received $27.95, the single parent with one child received $32.57, and the couple with two children received $43.30. This data was provided to us by the Department of Family Services for the purposes of our analysis.
Note that, given that approximately 95 per cent of households receiving social assistance in Iqaluit live in public housing, the example households are assumed to be living in public housing rather than private market housing. This means that the basic social assistance amounts in the table reflect the amounts that households received after most of their housing costs have been paid. In Nunavut, social assistance recipients in public housing do not pay fuel, water, sewage, garbage, and/or municipal needs, and their electricity costs are heavily subsidized.
Additional social assistance: In addition to basic assistance, the unattached single with a disability also received $3,000 ($250 per month) through the Incidental Allowance, which 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.
Territorial child benefits: Both households with children also received the Nunavut Child Benefit, which was $29 per month or $348 per year. The single parent with one child received the maximum amount of $348 in 2025 and the couple with two children received a reduced amount of $678.60.
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 $9.93, the unattached single with a disability received $70.05, and the single parent with one child received the maximum amount of $181.50.
Territorial tax credits: All four households received the Nunavut Carbon Credit (NCC). However, in 2025, the federal government removed the federal fuel charge as well as the requirement for provinces and territories to have a consumer price on carbon. This policy change ending the “carbon tax” also meant the end of carbon tax-related rebate payments, not only in the provinces in which the Canada Carbon Rebate was in effect but also in the provinces and territories that had their own carbon pricing and rebate programs, such as the NCC. Each of these rebate programs ended in spring 2025. As a result, households in Nunavut received significantly reduced rebate payments in 2025 compared to 2024. The differences in NCC payments between 2024 and 2025 for the Nunavut households are indicated in Table 2NU.
Table 2NU: Difference in carbon tax rebate payments in Nunavut, 2024 to 2025
Changes to welfare incomes
Figures 1NU and 2NU show how the total welfare incomes for each of the four example household types in Nunavut 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 Nunavut would have resulted in a slightly different trendline.
Figure 1NU: Welfare incomes for example unattached single households in Nunavut 1999–2025, in 2025 constant dollars
The total welfare incomes of both the unattached single considered employable and the unattached single with a disability followed a similar pattern: an initial gradual decline between 1999 and 2005, an increase in 2006 that was primarily due to increases in the Food Allowance, a steep incline in 2007, two further years of smaller inclines followed by a slight decline between 2009 and 2011, and then a considerable decline in 2012. The increase in 2007 and decline in 2012 were the result of changes to the methodology used in this report rather than a policy change by the territorial government. Specifically, the increase in 2007 was primarily due to the addition of an average monthly fuel payment in report calculations, while the decline in 2012 was due to shelter amounts becoming calculated based on public housing rents rather than private market rents (see the Components of welfare incomes section). Between 2013 and 2017 incomes were stable. The increase in 2018 was due to the introduction of the Basic Allowance, which combined and increased the previous Food and Clothing allowances; the additional increase in 2020 was due to federal COVID-19 pandemic-related payments. The declines through 2022 were due to the loss of these payments and the impact of inflation on unchanged social assistance benefit amounts. The increase in 2023 was due to the significant increase in those benefit amounts as well as the introduction of the Nunavut Carbon Credit (NCC) and the one-time federal Grocery Rebate. Incomes only modestly increased in 2024, as the loss of the federal Grocery Rebate offset much of the 2023 social assistance Monthly Basic Allowance increases. In 2025, their incomes declined due to the reduction in NCC payments and inflation eroding unchanged social assistance benefit amounts.
In 2025, the unattached single considered employable had a welfare income of $12,426, which is a 3 per cent decrease compared to 2024, and a 32 per cent decline since the start of the time series, in constant 2025 dollars. The welfare income of the unattached single with a disability was $15,488, which is a 3 per cent decrease compared to 2024, and a 30 per cent decline since the start of the time series, in constant 2025 dollars.
Figure 2NU: Welfare incomes for example households with children in Nunavut 1999–2025, in 2025 constant dollars
Welfare incomes for households with children followed a similar pattern to the unattached single households. After a period of decline between 1999 and 2005, the increase in 2006 was primarily the result of improvements to the Food Allowance. The sharp increase in 2007 and decline in 2012 were due to changes in report methodology: starting in 2007, we included an average monthly fuel payment and, starting in 2012, we based shelter amounts on public housing rents instead of private market rents (see the Components of welfare incomes section). Increases between 2015 and 2019 were the result of changes to federal child benefits and the 2018 introduction of the Basic Allowance, which combined and increased the Food and Clothing Allowances. The increase in 2020 was due to federal COVID-19 pandemic payments, and the 2021 and 2022 declines were largely due to the loss of those payments as well as the effect of inflation on unchanged social assistance benefit amounts. The increase in 2023 was due to a significant increase in those benefit amounts as well as the introduction of the Nunavut Carbon Credit (NCC) and the one-time federal Grocery Rebate. Incomes only modestly increased in 2024, as the loss of the federal Grocery Rebate offset much of the 2023 social assistance Monthly Basic Allowance increases. In 2025, incomes decreased due to the reduction in NCC payments and inflation eroding unchanged social assistance benefit amounts.
In 2025, the welfare income of the single parent with one child was $22,609, which is a 2 per cent decline compared to 2024, and a 55 per cent decrease since the start of the time series, in constant 2025 dollars. The welfare income of the couple with two children was $38,569, which is a 2 per cent decrease compared to 2024, and a 36 per cent decline 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. 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 Nunavut:
- 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.
As explained in the Methodology section, the MBM-N thresholds we use for Nunavut have been adjusted to include the subsidized rental unit type rather than the non-subsidized rental unit type that is generally used in MBM and MBM-N thresholds, given that our example households are assumed to be living in social housing. Because even the adjusted thresholds are not fully representative of the actual shelter benefits received by our example households – which are very low given that social housing shelter costs are heavily subsidized – it is likely that our calculations overestimate the depth of poverty of the example households in Nunavut.
MBM-N thresholds vary by territory and community size. As such, we use the adjusted thresholds for the territory’s largest city, Iqaluit, in the analysis below. As well, MBM-N thresholds for Nunavut are based on a five-person household, and thus the equivalence scale used to adjust for household size is different than the one used in all other jurisdictions.
Also note 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 and, as such, Statistics Canada does not produce LIM or LICO thresholds for the territories. Thus, as in past reports, we do not provide adequacy comparisons for households in the territories using these measures.
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 spreadsheet containing comparisons of the welfare incomes of the four example household types in Nunavut with the two adjusted poverty thresholds is available for download.
Poverty threshold comparisons
The welfare incomes of all four example household types in Nunavut were below the adjusted Official Poverty Line in Canada (MBM-N) in 2025, meaning that all four households were living in poverty. As well, the welfare incomes of all four households were also below the adjusted Deep Income Poverty threshold (MBM-N-DIP), which means that all four households were also living in deep poverty in 2025.
Figures 3NU and 4NU compare 2025 welfare incomes for the four example household types to the adjusted 2025 MBM-N and MBM-N-DIP thresholds for Iqaluit.
Figure 3NU: Welfare incomes and adjusted poverty thresholds for example unattached single households in Nunavut, 2025
The unattached single considered employable had the least adequate welfare income relative to the adjusted poverty thresholds. Their income was $19,193 below the adjusted Deep Income Poverty threshold and $29,732 below the adjusted Poverty Line. This means their income was 39 per cent of the adjusted MBM-N-DIP and only 29 per cent of the adjusted MBM-N.
The welfare income of the unattached single with a disability was $16,130 below the adjusted Deep Income Poverty threshold and $26,670 below the adjusted Poverty Line. This means their income was 49 per cent of the adjusted MBM-N-DIP and only 37 per cent of the adjusted MBM-N.
Note that the poverty experienced by people with disabilities is underrepresented because neither the MBM-N nor the MBM-N-DIP accounts for the additional costs associated with disability. See the Methodology section for more information.
Figure 4NU: Welfare incomes and adjusted poverty thresholds for example households with children in Nunavut, 2025
The welfare income of the single parent with one child was $22,106 below the adjusted Deep Income Poverty threshold and $37,011 below the adjusted Poverty Line. This means their income was 51 per cent of the adjusted MBM-N-DIP and only 38 per cent of the adjusted MBM-N.
The couple with two children was most adequate relative to the adjusted poverty thresholds among the four households. Their welfare income was $24,667 below the adjusted Deep Income Poverty threshold and $45,746 below the adjusted Poverty Line. This means their income was 61 per cent of the adjusted MBM-N-DIP and 46 per cent of the adjusted MBM-N.
Changes to adequacy of welfare incomes
Figures 5NU and 6NU show the total welfare incomes of each of the four example household types in Nunavut as a percentage of the MBM-N, which is Canada’s Official Poverty Line for the North, starting in 2018. Note that in Nunavut the MBM-N thresholds have been adjusted to account for subsidized housing, as explained above and in the Methodology section.
The black line at the top of the graphs (i.e., the 100 per cent threshold) represents the adjusted MBM-N. As such, the graphs show the relationship between the four households’ total welfare incomes and the adjusted Poverty Line over the past eight years.
The grey line indicates the adjusted Deep Income Poverty threshold, which is 75 per cent of the adjusted MBM-N. The graphs therefore also show the relationship between total welfare incomes and deep poverty in each year since 2018.
Two trendlines for each household are shown in the graphs. These lines illustrate the relationship between welfare incomes and the MBM-N, including changes made to the MBM-N due to “rebasing.” The rebasing that occurred in 2023 is 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 year in which rebasing took place (2023), we include the percentage of welfare income relative to the MBM-N 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 5NU: Welfare incomes as a percentage of the MBM-N for example unattached single households in Nunavut, 2018–2025
The income of the unattached single considered employable started the time series at only 19 per cent of the adjusted Poverty Line in 2018. After an increase to 24 per cent in 2020, it declined to 22 per cent in 2022. After the 2023 rebasing, their income was 29 per cent of the adjusted Poverty Line; it increased to 30 per cent in 2024 but decreased again in 2025 to end the time series at 29 per cent of the adjusted Poverty Line.
Overall, the income of the unattached single considered employable increased by 10 percentage points relative to the adjusted Poverty Line across the time series. Although this represents an improvement in the depth of poverty experienced by households in these circumstances, their income was below both the adjusted Poverty Line and adjusted Deep Income Poverty threshold across the entire time series. This means that households in these circumstances would have been living in deep poverty for the entire eight-year period.
The income of the unattached single with a disability started the time series at the slightly higher level of 26 per cent of the adjusted Poverty Line in 2018. It rose to 31 per cent in 2020 and declined again to 29 per cent in 2022. After the 2023 rebasing, their income was 36 per cent of the adjusted Poverty Line; it increased to 37 per cent of the adjusted Poverty Line in 2024 and remained there in 2025.
Overall, the income of the unattached single with a disability increased by 11 percentage points relative to the adjusted Poverty Line across the time series, which represents an improvement in the depth of poverty experienced by households in these circumstances. However, as with the unattached single considered employable, the income of this household was below both the adjusted Poverty Line and adjusted Deep Income Poverty threshold across the entire time series, which means that households in these circumstances would have been living in deep poverty for the entire eight-year period.
Note that this analysis likely overstates the depth of these households’ poverty, as explained in the Methodology section.
Figure 6NU: Welfare incomes as a percentage of the MBM-N for example households with children in Nunavut, 2018–2025
The welfare income of the single parent with one child started the time series at 31 per cent of the adjusted Poverty Line, increased to 35 per cent in both 2020 and 2021, and declined again to 32 per cent in 2022. After the 2023 rebasing, their income was 38 per cent of the adjusted Poverty Line, where it stayed until the end of the time series in 2025.
Overall, the income of the single parent with one child increased by 7 percentage points relative to the Poverty Line across the time series, which represents a slight improvement in the level of poverty experienced by households in these circumstances. However, their income remained below both the adjusted Poverty Line and adjusted Deep Income Poverty threshold in every year from 2018 to 2025, which means that households in these circumstances would have been living in deep poverty for the entire eight-year period.
The total welfare income of the couple with two children started the time series at the slightly higher level of 36 per cent of the adjusted Poverty Line, increased to 38 per cent in 2020, and declined again to 36 per cent in 2022. After the 2023 rebasing, their income was 45 per cent of the adjusted Poverty Line; it increased to 46 per cent in 2024 and remained at that level through to the end of the time series in 2025.
Overall, the income of the couple with two children increased by 8 percentage points relative to the adjusted Poverty Line across the time series, which represents a slight improvement in the depth of poverty experienced by households in these circumstances. However, as with the single parent with one child, their income remained below both the adjusted Poverty Line and adjusted Deep Income Poverty threshold in every year from 2018 to 2025, which means that households in these circumstances would have been living in deep poverty for the entire eight-year period.
Note that this analysis likely overstates the depth of these households’ poverty, as explained in the Methodology section.
Access to data
The data for Nunavut 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 the two poverty thresholds applicable in the North.
- Adequacy over time: each household’s welfare income relative to the adjusted Official Poverty Line (MBM-N) from 2018–2025.