In this section you will find:
Components of welfare incomes
In the Yukon, 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.
In 2025, all example households in the Yukon received additional payments from the territorial government related to the increased cost of living due to high inflation. These payments are included where applicable in the table below.
Table 1YT shows the value of the welfare income components of the four example household types in the Yukon in 2025. All four households are assumed to be living in Whitehorse, 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 1YT: Components of welfare incomes for all example households in the Yukon, 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 $23,696 for the unattached single considered employable to $65,348 for the couple with two children. The income of the unattached single with a disability was $27,428 and that of the single parent with one child was $44,623.
Basic social assistance: The Yukon’s basic social assistance rates are indexed to inflation with automatic increases taking effect on November 1 each year. A 2.8 per cent increase took effect in November 2025. (Note that our calculations for both basic and additional social assistance reflect benefits provided by the Government of Yukon; there may be differences with those provided through Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC).)
Additional social assistance: All households received the following additional benefits, all of which remained unchanged in 2025 unless otherwise noted:
- The Special Christmas Allowance of $30 annually per person.
- The Winter Clothing Allowance of $75 annually for people under 14 years old and $125 for people 14 years or older.
- The Telephone Allowance of $37 per month per household, paid to those who have been receiving assistance for at least six consecutive months, or paid immediately (without a six-month wait) to those who are excluded from the labour force.
- The Transportation Expense Allowance of $75 per month per adult, paid to those who have been receiving assistance for at least six consecutive months, or paid immediately (without a six-month wait) to people who are excluded from the labour force, and $56 per month for each dependent child between the ages of two and 18 (paid immediately). These amounts increased in 2025 from the previous $62 for an adult and $40 for a dependent child.
- The Laundry Service Allowance of $10 per month per person, paid to those who have been receiving assistance for at least six consecutive months, or paid immediately (without a six-month wait) to those who are excluded from the labour force and to children.
The unattached single with a disability also received the Yukon Supplementary Allowance of $250 per month, and the couple with two children received a one-time School Supply Allowance of $115. These amounts were unchanged in 2025.
All four households also received a time-limited inflation relief payment, first introduced in 2023, in the amount of $100 per month for each individual in the household, including children. The two unattached single households received $1,200, the single parent with one child received $2,400, and the couple with two children received $4,800.
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. Note that the couple with two children received a reduced amount because their income in past years exceeded the phase-out threshold.
Territorial child benefits: Both households with children received the Yukon Child Benefit. Between January and June, the maximum benefit was $76.50 per child per month and between July and December the maximum benefit was $78.08 per child per month, reduced by a percentage of prior years’ family net income above $35,000. The single parent with one child received the maximum amounts, for a total of $927.50. The couple with two children received reduced monthly amounts of $108.17 between January and June and $97.15 between July and December, for a total of $1,231.90. The amount for the second half of the year is less than for the first half because the amount of the benefit reduction is growing faster for this household than the benefit amount.
Federal tax credits/benefits: All four households received the GST/HST credit, which increased with inflation in July. The households received the following totals, paid in quarterly instalments throughout the year: the unattached single households received the maximum $344.50 and the single parent with one child received the maximum $689. The couple with two children received a reduced amount of $924.93 because their income in previous years exceeded the phase-out threshold.
Three households also received the GST/HST credit supplement, in the following total amounts: the unattached single households and the single parent with one child each received the maximum amount of $181.50.
Territorial tax credits/benefits: All four households received the Yukon Government Carbon Price Rebate (YGCPR), which was introduced in 2019 to help offset the cost of the federal carbon pollution pricing levy. However, in 2025, the federal government removed the federal fuel charge and the requirement for provinces and territories to have a consumer price on carbon. This policy change to end the “carbon tax” also meant the end of carbon tax-related rebate payments, not only in the provinces in which the Canada Carbon Rebate had been in effect but also in the provinces and territories that had their own carbon pricing and rebate programs, such as the YGCPR. Each of these programs ended in spring 2025. As a result, households in the Yukon received significantly reduced rebate payment amounts in 2025 compared to 2024. The differences inYGCPR payment amounts between 2024 and 2025 for the Yukon households are indicated in Table 2YT.
Table 2YT: Difference in carbon tax rebate payments in the Yukon, 2024 to 2025
Note: Amounts in the table are rounded to the nearest dollar and, as such, totals may not exactly add up.
Changes to welfare incomes
Figures 1YT and 2YT show how the total welfare incomes for each of the four example household types in the Yukon 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 the Yukon would have resulted in a slightly different trendline.
Figure 1YT: Welfare incomes for example unattached single households in the Yukon 1986–2025, in 2025 constant dollars
The welfare incomes of the two unattached single households followed a similar pattern: increasing gradually across the time series with periods of relative stagnation interspersed with steeper rises in 1997 and 2008–2009, declines between 2002 and 2008, and a further decline in 2022. In recent years, the increase in 2020 was primarily the result of federal COVID-19 pandemic-related payments, as well as benefit indexation. The decline in 2021 was primarily due to the loss of those pandemic-related payments, and the additional decline in 2022 was largely due to the impact of high inflation. The increases in 2023 and 2024 were primarily the result of new time-limited inflation-related social assistance payments, and the decrease in 2025 was primarily due to the reduction in Yukon Government Carbon Price Rebate payment amounts.
In 2025, the welfare income of the unattached single considered employable was $23,696, which is a 0.3 per cent decrease compared to 2024, and an 84 per cent increase since the start of the time series, in constant 2025 dollars. The welfare income of the unattached single with a disability was $27,428, which is a 0.2 per cent decrease compared to 2024, but a 56 per cent increase since the start of the time series, in constant 2025 dollars.
Figure 2YT: Welfare incomes for example households with children in the Yukon 1986–2025, in 2025 constant dollars
The total welfare incomes of the two households with children followed a similar pattern across the time series. Characterized by a general increase, the incomes were punctuated by steep rises and periods of both gradual decline and gradual increase. Sizable increases in 1997 and 2008–2009 were followed by gradual declines. Steady increases from 2011 to 2018–2019 were largely the result of additional social assistance benefits and federal child benefit changes. In 2020, the welfare incomes of both households increased, largely due to federal COVID-19 pandemic payments. The decline in 2021 was primarily due to the loss of these pandemic-related payments, and the additional decline in 2022 was largely due to the impact of high inflation. The increases in 2023 and 2024 were largely due to new time-limited inflation-related social assistance payments that began partway through 2023. In 2025, there was a rare divergence in the direction of change: while the single parent with one child household saw a slight increase, the couple with two children household saw a slight decrease, which was primarily due to small reductions across several tax-delivered benefits and credits triggered by its higher income.
In 2025, the welfare income of the single parent with one childwas $44,623, which is a 0.2 per cent increase compared to 2024, and a 73 per cent increase since the start of the time series, in constant 2025 dollars. The welfare income of the couple with two childrenwas $65,348, which is a 1 per cent decrease compared to 2024 but a 60 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. 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 Yukon:
- 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, Whitehorse, 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 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 the Yukon with the two poverty thresholds is available for download.
Poverty threshold comparisons
In 2025, the welfare incomes of all four example household types in the Yukon were below Canada’s Official Poverty Line (MBM-N), meaning that all four households were living in poverty. The income of one of the four households was also below the Deep Income Poverty threshold (MBM-N-DIP), which means that one household was also living in deep poverty in 2025.
Figures 3YT and 4YT compare 2025 welfare incomes of the four example household types to the 2025 MBM-N and MBM-N-DIP thresholds for Whitehorse.
Figure 3YT: Welfare incomes and poverty thresholds for example unattached single households in the Yukon, 2025
The unattached single considered employable had the least adequate income relative to the poverty thresholds. Their income was $1,786 below the Deep Income Poverty threshold and $10,280 below the Poverty Line. This means their income was 93 per cent of the MBM-N-DIP and 70 per cent of the MBM-N.
The unattached single with a disability had an income that was $1,946 above the Deep Income Poverty threshold but $6,548 below the Poverty Line. This means their income was 108 per cent of the MBM-N-DIP but 81 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 accounts for the additional costs associated with disability. See the Methodology section for more information.
Figure 4YT: Welfare incomes and poverty thresholds for example households with children in the Yukon, 2025
The income of the single parent with one child was $8,587 above the Deep Income Poverty threshold and $3,426 below the Poverty Line. This means their income was 124 per cent of the MBM-N-DIP but 93 per cent of the MBM-N.
The couple with two children had an income that was the most adequate relative to the poverty thresholds among the four households. Their welfare income was $14,384 above the Deep Income Poverty threshold and $2,603 below the Poverty Line. This means their income was 128 per cent of the MBM-N-DIP and 96 per cent of the MBM-N.
Changes to adequacy of welfare incomes
Figures 5YT and 6YT show the total welfare incomes of each of the four example household types in the Yukon as a percentage of the MBM-N for Whitehorse, 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 in each of the past eight 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 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 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 rise in the trendline indicates an improvement in their 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 5YT: Welfare incomes as a percentage of the MBM-N for example unattached single households in the Yukon, 2018–2025
The total welfare income of the unattached single considered employable started the time series at 69 per cent of the Poverty Line in 2018 and increased to a high of 72 per cent in 2020. After the 2023 rebasing, their income was 68 per cent of the Poverty Line; it rose slightly in 2024 to 71 per cent but declined to end the time series in 2025 at 70 per cent of the Poverty Line.
Overall, the income of the unattached single considered employable increased by 1 percentage point relative to the Poverty Line across the time series. This means that households in these circumstances would have lived at virtually the same level of poverty for the last eight years. Given that their income would have also been below the Deep Income Poverty threshold across the entire time series, households in these circumstances would have lived in deep poverty for the entire period.
The total welfare income of the unattached single with a disability started the time series in 2018 at the higher level of 83 per cent of the Poverty Line, increased to a high of 86 per cent in 2020, and declined to 81 per cent in 2022. Their income was 79 per cent of the Poverty Line after the 2023 rebasing; it increased to 82 per cent in 2024 but declined to end the time series in 2025 at 81 per cent of the Poverty Line.
Overall, the income of the unattached single with a disability decreased by 2 percentage points relative to the Poverty Line across the time series, indicating a slight deepening of the poverty experienced by households in these circumstances. In contrast to the income of the unattached single considered employable, the income of this household 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 entire eight-year period, they would not have been living in deep poverty.
Figure 6YT: Welfare incomes as a percentage of the MBM-N for example households with children in the Yukon, 2018–2025
The total welfare income of the single parent with one child started the time series at 92 per cent of the Poverty Line, moved to a high of 97 per cent in 2020, and declined to 90 per cent in 2022. Their income remained at 90 per cent after the 2023 rebasing but increased to 94 per cent in 2024; it declined slightly in 2025 and ended the time series at 93 per cent of the Poverty Line.
Overall, the income of the single parent with one child increased by 1 percentage point relative to the Poverty Line since 2018, which indicates a very small improvement in the depth of poverty experienced by households in these circumstances. This household’s total income would have been above the Deep Income Poverty threshold across the time series, which means that although households in these circumstances would have been living in poverty for the entire eight-year period, they would not have been living in deep poverty.
The total welfare income of the couple with two children started the time series at 97 per cent of the Poverty Line in 2018, briefly reached a high of 100 per cent in 2020, and declined to 93 per cent in 2022. Their income increased slightly to 94 per cent after the 2023 rebasing, increased further to 98 per cent in 2024, but declined slightly in 2025 to end the time series at 96 per cent of the Poverty Line.
Overall, the income of the couple with two children decreased relative to the Poverty Line by 1 percentage point between 2018 and 2025. This household’s total income would have been above the Deep Income Poverty threshold across the time series, which means that although households in these circumstances would have been living in poverty or just at the Poverty Line for all eight years, they would not have been living in deep poverty.
Access to data
The data for the Yukon 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: Welfare income relative to the Official Poverty Line (MBM-N) for each household from 2018–2025.