Components of welfare incomes
In Quebec, 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.
Although in other jurisdictions we typically analyze the incomes of four households, in Quebec we analyze the incomes of six households. This is due to policy changes in Quebec that changed the way that the Social Assistance program works for new entrants. (Our methodology requires us to look at the situation of those who are newly enrolled in Social Assistance programs starting January 1 of the calendar year in question. See the Methodology section for more information.)
Starting in 2018, new entrants into the Social Assistance program in Quebec were required to participate in the Aim for Employment program, which is intended to help recipients “enter the labour market and become financially self-sufficient” by providing a variety of training opportunities and other supports. (More information can be found here: http://bit.ly/44lIoGc and here: https://bit.ly/3HGVrJp.) The program is made up of several streams, each of which provides a different level of benefits depending on the work-related activity that is undertaken. As of the 2019 Welfare in Canada report, the unattached single considered employable and the couple with two children were assumed to be receiving Aim for Employment benefits instead of Social Assistance program benefits.
Starting in July 2022, the provincial government introduced a major policy change intended to further incentivize work-related activity by allowing Aim for Employment program recipients to receive the benefits offered to other Quebecers receiving training and employment supports through the Allocation d’aide de l’emploi (Manpower Training) measure, as one of the streams in the program.
These benefits resulted in significantly higher total welfare incomes than are offered through other program streams. Note that households receiving Manpower Training benefits are ineligible for regular monthly Aim for Employment benefits, although they stay on the program’s caseload and are eligible for in-kind services.
As of 2022, we have chosen to include two additional example households to illustrate the variety of incomes available to new entrants in the Aim for Employment program. For both the unattached single considered employable and the couple with two children, we have included households that reflect typical “lowest” and “highest” benefit amounts, depending on their Aim for Employment program stream and, for the couple with two children, the number of adults engaged in employment-related activities.
Throughout this section, the designation “(AIM)” represents a household receiving a basic benefit that is equivalent to the regular Social Assistance program allowance plus a Participation Allowance for an “intensive employment search” or the “development of social skills,” which constitutes a typical “lowest” amount from the Aim for Employment program. (Although these benefits are representative of a typical “lowest” benefit amount, some recipients may receive lower amounts based on their particular circumstances.) The designation “(MAN)” represents a household receiving the Manpower Training measure benefit, which includes a Participation Allowance for recipients who undertake qualifying training activities, which is a typical “highest” amount available through the Aim for Employment program.
Note that recipients can only participate in the Aim for Employment program for 12 months, with a possible extension to 24 months. Following this period, households are eligible to receive the Social Assistance program monthly benefit amounts instead; in 2025, these were $829 per month for the unattached single considered employable ($784 in the basic benefit plus $45 for the monthly adjustment) and $1,258 per month for the couple with two children ($1,213 in the basic benefit plus $45 for the monthly adjustment), plus any additional allowances.
Also note that the Government Action Plan for Economic Inclusion and Social Participation 2017–2023 introduced a Basic Income Program in Quebec for people with severe employment constraints. Program implementation began January 1, 2019, and it was fully phased in as of January 2023. Social Solidarity Program recipients who have been in the program for at least 66 of the past 72 months become eligible for a new Basic Income Program benefit. Given that our Methodology requires us to look at the situation of those who are newly enrolled in Social Assistance programs starting January 1 of the calendar year in question, we do not calculate the total welfare income of an unattached single with a disability receiving benefits through the Basic Income Program. (As of January 1, 2024, the amount of the Basic Income Program benefit was $1,627 per month for unattached singles ($1,273 in basic benefits plus $354 for the singles adjustment).)
Table 1QC shows the value of the welfare income components of the six example household types in Quebec in 2025. All six households are assumed to be living in Montreal, 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 households are ten and 15. Other assumptions for calculating incomes are in the Methodology section.
Table 1QC: Components of welfare incomes for all example households in Quebec, 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 $15,209 for the unattached single considered employable (AIM) to $49,253 for the couple with two children (MAN). The unattached single with a disability received $17,183, the unattached single considered employable (MAN) received $26,464, the single parent with one child received $28,195, and the couple with two children (AIM) received $47,231.
Basic social assistance: The unattached single considered employable (AIM) and the couple with two children (AIM) received the basic Aim for Employment monthly allowance from Social Assistance in the amounts of $784 and $1,213, respectively. These allowances increase with inflation in January of each year. They both also received the Monthly Adjustment amount of $45 per month, which remained unchanged in 2025. Both households also received a Participation Allowance for an “intensive employment search” or the “development of social skills” of $70 per week for each adult in the household, which represents the lowest Participation Allowance amount available through the Aim for Employment program; this amount did not change in 2025.
The single parent with one child received the basic monthly Social Assistance program allowance, also in the amount of $784, as well as the Monthly Adjustment amount of $45 per month. They also received a work-related allowance, which for this household was the Temporarily Limited Capacity allowance of $166 per month. Note that we include this allowance in our calculations due to the young age of the child, which typically means the single parent is not required to undertake work-related activity.
The unattached single with a disability received benefits from the Social Solidarity program, which included an allowance of $1,191 per month and a Monthly Adjustment amount of $103 per month. Social Solidarity benefits increase with inflation in January every year, while the Monthly Adjustment amount remained unchanged in 2025.
The unattached single considered employable (MAN) and the couple with two children (MAN) received the Manpower Training measure benefit under the Aim for Employment program. Our calculations reflect the maximum available benefit amount of $475 per week for an adult, which applies to those people in the Skills Development Component who undertake qualifying training activities. In the case of the couple with two children, our calculations reflect only one adult receiving the maximum Manpower Training benefit.
Additional social assistance: In addition to basic assistance, all three households with children received $170 per month from the Shelter Allowance administered through Revenu Québec. The couple with two children (AIM) also received the annual School-Related Allowance of $76 for the ten-year-old and $123 for the 15-year-old. The amounts of both allowances remained unchanged in 2025.
Federal child benefits: All three 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: All three households with children received the Family Allowance, which increases with inflation each January. In 2025, the amount was $250.50 per month, or $3,006 annually, for each child. The single parent with one child also received the Family Allowance Single Parent Supplement of $87.92 per month, or $1,055 annually. The two couples with two children also received the School Supply Supplement, which increased from $121 to $124 per child aged four to 16 as of January.
Federal tax credits/benefits: All six 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: all three unattached single households received $344.50, the single parent with one child received $689, and both couples with two children received $1,052.
Four households also received the GST/HST credit supplement, in the following total amounts: the unattached single considered employable (MAN) and the single parent with one child both received the maximum amount of $181.50, the unattached single considered employable (AIM) received a reduced amount of $38.28, and the unattached single with a disability received a reduced amount of $72.16.
Provincial tax credits/benefits: All six households received the Social Solidarity Tax Credit, which increased with inflation in July from $101.75 to $104.67 per month for the unattached single households, from $114.33 to $117.58 for the single parent with one child, and from $154.75 to $159.17 for the couples with two children.
Changes to welfare incomes
Figures 1QC, 2QC, 3QC, and 4QC show how the total welfare incomes of the example households in Quebec 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 Quebec would have resulted in a slightly different trendline.
Figure 1QC: Welfare incomes for example unattached singles considered employable in Quebec 1986–2025, in 2025 constant dollars
Figure 1QC shows three trendlines: the unattached single considered employable receiving Social Assistance benefits from 1986 until 2018, the unattached single considered employable (AIM) starting in 2019, and the unattached single considered employable (MAN) starting in 2022.
After increases in the late 1980s and early 1990s and a slight decline from 1993 to 1998, the total welfare income of the unattached single considered employable was relatively stable until 2011. A slight increase in 2012 was followed by another static period until 2018.
In 2019, the provincial government instituted the mandatory Aim for Employment program for new recipients of Social Assistance. Given that our households are assumed to be new entrants in each calendar year, the new program resulted in a substantial income increase in our year-over-year analysis between 2018 and 2019, primarily due to the program’s higher work-related allowances. As such, a new trendline starts in 2019 – at a higher level than the previous one – for the unattached single considered employable (AIM). The income of this household is assumed to represent a typical or “lowest” Aim for Employment income. In July 2022, the provincial government instituted another major policy change that allowed Aim for Employment recipients to receive benefits through Quebec’s Manpower Training measure. As such, another trendline starts for the unattached single considered employable (MAN) in 2022, which represents a “highest” Aim for Employment income. See the Components of welfare incomes section for more information about the policy changes described above.
The AIM household saw an increase in 2020 due to COVID-19 benefits, a decline in 2021 due to the loss of those benefits, another increase in 2022 due to higher work-related allowances as well as inflation-related payments from both the provincial and federal governments, a decline in 2023 due to the loss of most inflation-related payments, and an increase in 2024 due to higher provincial tax credits. In 2025, the AIM household saw their income essentially unchanged.
The MAN household’s income was much higher compared to that of the AIM household in 2022, primarily due to the significantly higher payments received from Manpower Training; another increase in 2023 resulted from receiving these higher payments for the entire calendar year. The decline in 2024 was primarily due to the impact of unchanged Manpower Training benefits and the loss of the federal Grocery Rebate. In 2025, the MAN household’s income declined again due to the impact of unchanged Manpower Training benefits.
In 2025, the total welfare income of the unattached single considered employable (AIM) was $15,209, which is a 0.3 per cent increase compared to 2024, a 1 per cent increase since 2019 when Aim for Employment participation was made mandatory, and a 33 per cent increase since 2018 (i.e., their total income when receiving Social Assistance benefits prior to Aim for Employment), in constant 2025 dollars.
The total welfare income of the unattached single considered employable (MAN) was $26,464, which is a 1.7 per cent decrease compared to 2024, a 17 per cent increase since 2022 (when Manpower Training benefits were first made available), and a 131 per cent increase since 2018 (i.e., their total income when receiving Social Assistance benefits prior to Aim for Employment), in constant 2025 dollars.
Figure 2QC: Welfare income for the example unattached single with a disability in Quebec 1986–2025, in 2025 constant dollars
The welfare income of the unattached single with a disability increased from the start of the time series until 1994, remained relatively stable until 2011, increased in 2012, then declined slightly until 2017. Their income increased again in 2018 and 2019, largely due to enhancements in basic Social Assistance benefits, and again in 2020 largely due to COVID-19 pandemic-related payments. The decline in 2021 was primarily due to the loss of pandemic-related payments and the effects of high inflation. The increase in 2022 was due to inflation-related one-time payments from both the provincial and federal governments and the decline in 2023 was due to the loss of those payments. The increases in 2024 and 2025 were due to the impacts of inflationary adjustments to most benefit payments.
In 2025, the total welfare income of the unattached single with a disability was $17,183, which is a 0.8 per cent increase compared to 2024, and a 23 per cent increase since the start of the time series, in constant 2025 dollars.
Figure 3QC: Welfare incomes for the example single parent with one child in Quebec 1986–2025, in 2025 constant dollars
The total welfare income of the single parent with one child fluctuated in the late 1980s and early 1990s, increased in 1994, decreased through to 2000, then plateaued until 2004. Increases through to 2006 were followed by a period of relative stasis until 2011 and then a generally increasing trend through to 2019. Increases between 2015 and 2017 were primarily the result of changes to federal child benefits. This household’s income peaked in 2020, then declined again through to 2023. The 2020 increase was primarily due to COVID-19 pandemic-related payments, while the 2021 decline was largely due to the loss of those payments. The 2022 decline was primarily due to very high national inflation despite additional inflation-related payments, while the 2023 decline was due to the loss of those payments. The increases in 2024 and 2025 were due to the impacts of inflationary adjustments to most benefit payments.
In 2025, the total welfare income of the single parent with one child was $28,195, which is a 0.8 per cent increase compared to 2024, and a 23 per cent increase since the start of the time series, in constant 2025 dollars.
Figure 4QC: Welfare incomes for example couples with two children in Quebec 1986–2025, in 2025 constant dollars
Figure 4QC shows three trendlines: the couple with two children receiving Social Assistance benefits from 1986 until 2018, the couple with two children (AIM) starting in 2019, and the couple with two children (MAN) starting in 2022.
After increases in the early 1990s, the total welfare income of the couple with two children saw decreases from 1993 to 1997, relative stasis through to 2004, a slight increase in 2005, and another period of stasis through to 2011. Thereafter, their income increased through to 2018, primarily due to changes to federal child benefits.
In 2019, the new and mandatory Aim for Employment program for new recipients of Social Assistance was instituted. Given that our example households are assumed to be new entrants in each calendar year, the new program resulted in a substantial income increase in our year-over-year analysis between 2018 and 2019, primarily due to the program’s associated much higher work-related allowances. As a result, we see a new trendline start in 2019 at a higher level than the previous one for the couple with two children (AIM). The income of this household is assumed to represent a typical “lowest” Aim for Employment income. In July 2022, the provincial government instituted another major policy change that allowed Aim for Employment recipients to receive benefits through Quebec’s Manpower Training measure. As such, another trendline starts for the couple with two children (MAN) in 2022, which represents a typical “highest” Aim for Employment income. See the Components of welfare incomes section for more information about the policy changes described above.
The AIM household saw an increase in 2020 due to COVID-19 benefits, a decline in 2021 due to the loss of those benefits, another increase in 2022 due to higher work-related allowances as well as inflation-related payments from both the provincial and federal governments, a decline in 2023 due to the loss of most inflation-related payments, and a slight increase in 2024 due to inflationary adjustments to most benefit payments. Their total welfare income remained stable in 2025.
The MAN household’s income was higher in 2022 compared to that of the AIM household, primarily due to the higher payments received from Manpower Training; another slight increase in 2023 resulted from receiving these higher payments for the entire calendar year. The decline in 2024 was primarily due to the impact of unchanged Manpower Training benefits and the loss of the federal Grocery Rebate. In 2025, the MAN household’s income continued to decline due to the impact of unchanged Manpower Training benefits.
In 2025, the total welfare income of the couple with two children (AIM) was $47,231, which is a 0.5 per cent increase compared to 2024, a 4 per cent increase since 2019 (when Aim for Employment participation was made mandatory), and a 26 per cent increase since 2018 (i.e., their total income when receiving Social Assistance benefits prior to Aim for Employment), in constant 2025 dollars.
The total welfare income of the couple with two children (MAN) was $49,254, which is a 0.4 per cent decrease compared to 2024, a 1 per cent decrease compared to 2022 (when Manpower Training benefits were first made available), and a 31 per cent increase since 2018 (i.e., their total income when receiving Social Assistance benefits prior to Aim for Employment), 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.
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, Montreal, 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 six example household types in Quebec with all four poverty/low-income thresholds is available for download.
Poverty threshold comparisons
The welfare incomes of five of the six example household types in Quebec were below Canada’s Official Poverty Line (MBM) in 2025, and two were also below the Deep Income Poverty threshold (MBM-DIP). This means that five of the six households were living in poverty and two were also living in deep poverty in 2025.
Figures 5QC and 6QC compare 2025 welfare incomes for the six example household types to the 2025 MBM and MBM-DIP thresholds for Montreal.
Figure 5QC: Welfare incomes and poverty thresholds for example unattached single households in Quebec, 2025
The unattached single considered employable (AIM) had the least adequate income relative to the poverty thresholds. Their income was $3,648 below the Deep Income Poverty threshold and $9,934 below the Poverty Line. This means their income was 81 per cent of the MBM-DIP and 60 per cent of the MBM.
The unattached single considered employable (MAN) had the most adequate income relative to the poverty thresholds. Their income was $7,607 above the Deep Income Poverty threshold and $1,321 above the Poverty Line. This means their income was 140 per cent of the MBM-DIP and 105 per cent of the MBM.
The unattached single with a disability had an income that was $1,675 below the Deep Income Poverty threshold and $7,960 below the Poverty Line. This means their income was 91 per cent of the MBM-DIP and 68 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 6QC: Welfare incomes and poverty thresholds for example households with children in Quebec, 2025
The single parent with one child had a welfare income that was $1,526 above the Deep Income Poverty threshold but $7,363 below the Poverty Line. This means their income was 106 per cent of the MBM-DIP but 79 per cent of the MBM.
The couple with two children (AIM) had a welfare income that was $9,516 above the Deep Income Poverty threshold but $3,056 below the Poverty Line. This means their income was 125 per cent of the MBM-DIP but 94 per cent of the MBM.
The couple with two children (MAN) had an income that was $11,538 above the Deep Income Poverty threshold but $1,033 below the Poverty Line. This means their income was 131 per cent of the MBM-DIP but 98 per cent of the MBM.
Low-income threshold comparisons
The welfare incomes of the example households were all below or at the level of the low-income thresholds, as shown in the spreadsheet linked below.
The lowest income relative to these thresholds was that of the unattached single considered employable (AIM), whose total welfare income was only 48 per cent of the LIM and only 58 per cent of the LICO. The highest was that of the unattached single considered employable (MAN), whose total welfare income was 83 per cent of the LIM and 100.1 per cent of the LICO.
The unattached single with a disability had a total welfare income that was 54 per cent of the LIM and 65 per cent of the LICO. The single parent with one childhad a welfare income of 62 per cent of the LIM and 88 per cent of the LICO.
The couple with two children (AIM) had a total welfare income that was 74 per cent of the LIM and 94 per cent of the LICO. The couple with two children (MAN) had a total welfare income that was 77 per cent of the LIM and 99 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 7QC, 8QC, 9QC, and 10QC show the total welfare incomes of each of the six example households in Quebec as a percentage of the Market Basket Measure (MBM) threshold for Montreal, 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 six 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 7QC: Welfare incomes as a percentage of the MBM for example unattached singles considered employable in Quebec, 2002–2025
The welfare income of the unattached single considered employable receiving Social Assistance benefits began the time series in 2002 at only 56 per cent of the Poverty Line. Their income declined slightly to 53 per cent in 2007 and declined even further after the 2008 rebasing to 46 per cent of the Poverty Line. Although it increased slightly to 51 per cent in 2017, their income returned to 46 per cent of the Poverty Line after the 2018 rebasing.
In 2019, changes for new entrants into the Social Assistance program (as described in the Components of welfare incomes section) resulted in a total welfare income for the unattached single considered employable (AIM) that was 60 per cent of the Poverty Line. Their income then vacillated between 60 and 63 per cent of the Poverty Line until 2022. After the rebasing in 2023, their income remained unchanged at 60 per cent of the Poverty Line in both 2024 and 2025.
In 2022, when Manpower Training benefits became available, the total welfare income for the unattached single considered employable (MAN) was 91 per cent of the Poverty Line. After the 2023 rebasing, their income was 108 per cent of the Poverty Line; it declined slightly to 107 per cent in 2024 and declined further to 105 per cent in 2025.
Overall, the income of the unattached single considered employable declined by 10 percentage points between the start of the time series and the 2018 rebasing, which represents a significant worsening of the poverty experienced by households in these circumstances in those years. The policy changes in 2019 and 2022 resulted in much higher total welfare incomes for both the unattached single considered employable (AIM) and the unattached single considered employable (MAN), and therefore households in these circumstances would have had much more adequate incomes relative to the Poverty Line. It is important to note, however, that the unattached single considered employable (AIM) would still have been living in deep poverty since the Aim for Employment program was introduced in 2019. Although the unattached single considered employable (MAN) would have been living in poverty in 2022, their income would have risen above the Poverty Line in 2023, 2024, and 2025.
Figure 8QC: Welfare incomes as a percentage of the MBM for the example unattached single with a disability in Quebec, 2002–2025
The welfare income of the unattached single with a disability started the time series at 80 per cent of the Poverty Line; it decreased to 78 per cent in 2007 and to 69 per cent after the 2008 rebasing. A general increase through the next decade saw their income reach 72 per cent in 2017, but after the 2018 rebasing it declined to 68 per cent. Some fluctuation followed, with their income reaching 71 per cent in 2020 and 2022. After the 2023 rebasing, their income was 66 per cent of the Poverty Line; it increased to 68 per cent in 2024 and remained stable in 2025.
Overall, the welfare income of the unattached single with a disability was 12 percentage points lower relative to the Poverty Line in 2025 than it was in 2002. This indicates a deepening of the poverty experienced by households in these circumstances across the time series. As well, their income would have started the time series above the Deep Income Poverty threshold but would have fallen below it as of 2008, meaning that households in these circumstances would have consistently lived in deep poverty for the majority of the time series.
Figure 9QC: Welfare incomes as a percentage of the MBM for the example single parent with one child in Quebec, 2002–2025
The welfare income of the single parent with one child started the time series in 2002 at 82 per cent of the Poverty Line. Their income generally increased relative to the Poverty Line until 2007 but declined after the 2008 rebasing to 79 per cent. This was followed by another general increase to 86 per cent in 2017, and a decline to 77 per cent after the 2018 rebasing. After an increase to 81 per cent in 2020, their income fell back to 77 per cent after the 2023 rebasing; it increased to 79 per cent in 2024 and remained stable in 2025.
Overall, the welfare income of the single parent with one child declined by 3 percentage points relative to the Poverty Line across the time series. This indicates a slight deepening of the poverty experienced by households in these circumstances over the last 24 years. It is notable that their income would have been above the Deep Income Poverty threshold across the entire time series, meaning that although households in these circumstances would have been living in poverty for the last 24 years, they would not have been living in deep poverty.
Figure 10QC: Welfare incomes as a percentage of the MBM for the example couples with two children in Quebec, 2002–2025
The welfare income of the couple with two children receiving Social Assistance benefits started the time series at 74 per cent of the Poverty Line, increased to 81 per cent in 2005, and declined slightly to 81 per cent before the 2008 rebasing. After the 2008 rebasing, their income decreased to 71 per cent of the Poverty Line. A period of relative stasis followed until 2014, after which their income gradually increased to 84 per cent of the Poverty Line in 2017. After the 2018 rebasing, their income was 76 per cent of the Poverty Line.
In 2019, the changes for new entrants into the Social Assistance program (as described in the Components of welfare income section) resulted in a total welfare income for the couple with two children (AIM)that was 92 per cent of the Poverty Line. Their income then fluctuated, reaching a high of 98 per cent in 2020 and declining to 94 per cent in 2022. Their income decreased slightly to 92 per cent after the 2023 rebasing but increased modestly over the next two years, ending the time series in 2025 at 94 per cent of the Poverty Line.
In 2022, when Manpower Training benefits became available to this household, the total welfare income for the couple with two children (MAN) was 100 per cent of the Poverty Line. After the 2023 rebasing, their income decreased slightly to 98 per cent, where it stayed through 2024 and 2025.
Overall, the income of the couple with two children increased by 2 percentage points between the start of the time series and the 2018 rebasing, which represents a slight improvement in the poverty experienced by households in these circumstances in those years. The policy changes in 2019 and 2022 would have resulted in much higher total welfare incomes for both the couple with two children (AIM) and the couple with two children (MAN), and therefore much more adequate incomes relative to the Poverty Line. It is important to note that both couples with two children would have still been living in poverty since the changes in 2019, although the income of the couple with two children (MAN) would have reached the Poverty Line in 2022.
Access to data
The data for Quebec is available for download, including:
- Components of welfare income for all households.
- 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.