Alberta

• Components of welfare incomes
• Changes to welfare incomes
• Adequacy of welfare incomes
• Changes to adequacy of welfare incomes

Last updated: November 2022

This resource is not intended to help individuals identify what government transfers they could be entitled to. Individuals living in Alberta seeking financial assistance should visit this page.

In Alberta, 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 tax credits or benefits.

Together, these components combine to 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 2021, one example household — the single parent with one child — was also eligible for payments related to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.

The table below shows the value of the welfare income components of the five example household types in Alberta in 2021. All five households are assumed to be living in Calgary. The child in the single parent household is two years old and the children in the couple household are ten and 15. COVID-19 pandemic-related payments are included where applicable in the table below.​

Components of welfare incomes, 2021

Note: Totals may not add up due to rounding.

*The Barriers to Full Employment (BFE) category of Alberta’s Income Support program provides the unattached single with a disability with slightly higher basic benefits than those provided to the unattached single considered employable. To access BFE, an applicant must show evidence that they will probably never be able to work full time continuously in the competitive labour force. This includes people whose employment is intermittent due to their health problems.

**The Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) provides recipients with a flat rate living allowance not linked to household size. Some additional benefits for recipients and any dependent children are available, depending on their circumstances. To access AISH, an applicant must show evidence that they have a severe handicap that causes substantial limitation in their ability to earn a livelihood and that is likely to be permanent.

Total annual welfare incomes in 2021 ranged from $9,728 for the unattached single considered employable to $34,574 for the couple with two children. The unattached single with a disability who qualified for Barriers to Full Employment (BFE) received $11,195 and the unattached single with a disability who qualified for Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) received $21,164. The single parent with one child received $24,891.

Basic social assistance: Monthly basic social assistance benefit amounts remained unchanged in 2021.

Additional social assistance: Only the couple with two children received additional social assistance benefits. The annual School Expense Allowance provided $103 for the ten-year-old and $179 for the 15-year-old in that household. These amounts remained unchanged in 2021. 

Federal child benefits: Both households with children received the Canada Child Benefit (CCB), which increased with inflation in July 2021 from $563.75 to $569.42 per month for a child under six years of age and from $475.66 to $480.41 per month for a child aged six to 17. 

In addition, the single parent of one child aged two received the COVID-19 pandemic-related CCB Young Child Supplement, given to CCB-eligible families with children under the age of six, of $300 per child in January, April, July, and October.

Provincial child benefits: Both households with children received the Alberta Child and Family Benefit (ACFB). 2021 was the first full year of payments through the ACFB, which replaced both the Alberta Child Benefit and the Alberta Family Employment Tax Credit as of July 2020 and was delivered quarterly through the Canada Revenue Agency. The monthly ACFB amount was $110.83 for the single parent household and $166.25 for the couple with two children. These amounts remained unchanged in 2021. 

Federal tax credits / benefits: All five households received the GST/HST credit, which increased in July 2021 with inflation. The unattached single considered employable, the unattached single with a disability eligible for BFE benefits, and the unattached single with a disability eligible for AISH benefits all received $297.50 in basic GST/HST credit, while the single parent with one child received $595 and the couple with two children received $907. 

Three households also received the GST/HST credit supplement. The unattached single with a disability (BFE) received $15.08 while the unattached single with a disability who qualified for the AISH program and the single parent with one child received the full amount of $156.

All five households received the federal climate action incentive (CAI) payment. The unattached single considered employable, the unattached single with a disability eligible for BFE benefits, and the unattached single with a disability eligible for AISH benefits all received the basic CAI payment amount for Alberta of $490. The single parent with one child received the basic amount plus the single parent’s qualified dependant amount of $245, for a total of $735. The couple with two children received the basic amount, the spousal amount of $245, and the qualified dependant amount of $123 for each child, for a total of $981. The CAI increased in 2021 over 2020 amounts. 

Provincial tax credits / benefits: No provincial tax credits or benefits were available to the example households in 2021.

COVID-19 pandemic-related payments

The only pandemic-related payment available to the example Alberta households in 2021 was received by the single parent of one child aged two, which came from the federal Canada Child Benefit Young Child Supplement of $300 per child, paid in January, April, July, and October. This amount is included in, and is not in addition to, the benefits described in the Components section above.

COVID-19 pandemic-related payments, 2021

Changes to welfare incomes

The graphs below show how the total welfare incomes for each of the five example household types in Alberta have changed over time. Note that the values are in 2021 constant dollars, not in nominal dollars. Using constant dollars takes into account the effect of inflation, as measured by the national Consumer Price Index, given that inflation reduces real dollar values over time.

After a reduction in the late 1980s and a small increase in 1991, the welfare income of the unattached single considered employable gradually declined until 2005, followed by a short period of fluctuation. Starting in 2009 and for ten years, welfare income stabilized at around $8,800.

In 2019, income increased to $9,763. Another increase in 2020, to $10,349, was largely due to the addition of the federal climate action incentive and COVID-19 pandemic-related payments. The decline in 2021 to $9,728 is due primarily to the loss of the federal COVID-19 pandemic payments but also to the impact of inflation on unchanged social assistance benefit amounts.

Since 1989, the welfare income of the unattached single with a disability receiving Barriers to Full Employment (BFE) benefits has been fairly constant, fluctuating between a low of $10,390 in 2005 and a high of $11,861 in 2020.

The increase in 2020 is due primarily to the addition of the federal climate action incentive and COVID-19 pandemic-related payments. The decline in 2021 to $11,195 is primarily due to the loss of the federal COVID-19 pandemic payments, as well as to inflation.

The welfare income for the unattached single with a disability receiving Alberta’s Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) benefits has only been tracked since the program’s inception in 2006. Since then, their income has gone through several fluctuations, generally rising from $16,280 in 2006 to a high of $22,423 in 2013, followed by a period of steady decline until 2019 and another peak of $22,325 in 2020. The 2021 total welfare income of $21,164, while below both highs, is nearly double that of the unattached single with a disability receiving BFE benefits.

Again, the increase in 2020 is primarily due to the federal climate action incentive and COVID-19 pandemic-related payments, and the decline in 2021 is primarily due to the loss of the pandemic-related payments, as well as to inflation.

The welfare incomes of both households with children peaked in 2020. Both followed a similar pattern of gradual decline between 1990 and 2005, with fluctuations between 2006 and 2014. Since 2015, incomes increased primarily due to changes to federal child benefits and the 2016 introduction of the Alberta Child Benefit.

After a considerable increase in basic social assistance benefits in 2019, the slight increases in 2020 are due primarily to the addition of federal COVID-19 pandemic-related and climate action incentive payments. The reductions in 2021 are due to the loss of the COVID-19 pandemic-related payments, as well as the impact of inflation. The reduction is less for the single parent with one child due to the Canada Child Benefit Young Child Supplement, which is a new COVID-19 pandemic-related payment for 2021.

Note that while the welfare income of the single parent with one child increased in nominal value between 2020 and 2021, the effect of inflation negated this increase.

In 2021, the single parent with one child received a welfare income of $24,891, while the couple with two children received $34,574.

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.

In Canada, there are two commonly used measures of poverty:

• 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 represent a basic standard of living.
• Deep Income Poverty (MBM-DIP) identifies households whose disposable income is less than 75 per cent of the MBM.

There are also two commonly used measures of low income:

• The Low Income Measure (LIM) identifies households whose income is substantially below what is typical in society (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 the necessities of food, clothing, and shelter.

Note that MBM thresholds vary by province and community size, and LICO thresholds vary by community size, and so those for Calgary are used in the analysis below. As well, both the MBM and LIM thresholds for 2021 are estimates based on increasing the 2020 thresholds to account for inflation.

Note also that none of the poverty or low-income measures currently in use in Canada account for the higher cost of living faced by persons with disabilities, and thus 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 five example household types in Alberta with all four poverty / low-income thresholds is available for download.

Poverty threshold comparisons

The two figures below compare 2021 welfare incomes for the five example household types to the MBM and MBM-DIP thresholds for Calgary.

The welfare incomes of all five example household types in Alberta were below Canada’s Official Poverty Line thresholds in 2021, which means that all five households were living in poverty. In addition, four of the households were living in deep poverty in 2021 as defined by the MBM-DIP.

The unattached single considered employable had the lowest income relative to the poverty thresholds. Their income was $9,705 below the deep income poverty threshold and $16,183 below the poverty line. This means their income was 50 per cent of the MBM-DIP and only 38 per cent of the MBM.

The income of the unattached single with a disability receiving Barriers to Full Employment (BFE) program benefits was marginally better relative to the poverty thresholds. Their income was $8,238 below the deep income poverty threshold and $14,715 below the poverty line. In other words, their income was only 58 per cent of the MBM-DIP and only 43 per cent of the MBM.

The unattached single with a disability who qualified for the Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) program had the highest income relative to the poverty thresholds. They were the only example household in Alberta to have an income above the deep income poverty threshold, at $1,731 above deep income poverty. However, their income remained below the poverty line by $4,747. This means their income was 109 per cent of the MBM-DIP and 82 per cent of the MBM.

Note that the poverty experienced by persons with disabilities is under-represented given that neither the MBM nor the MBM-DIP account for the additional costs associated with disability.

The adequacy of the incomes of households with children were comparable to each other, and both were higher, relative to the poverty thresholds, than two of the unattached single households (excepting that of the unattached individual receiving AISH).

The income of the single parent with one child was $2,591 below the deep income poverty threshold and $11,751 below the poverty line. This means their income was 91 per cent of the MBM-DIP and 68 per cent of the MBM.

The income of the couple with two children was $4,291 below the deep income poverty threshold and $17,246 below the poverty line. In other words, their income was 89 per cent of the MBM-DIP and 67 per cent of the MBM.

Low-income threshold comparisons

The welfare incomes of these households were also below, and in some instances far below, the low-income thresholds, as shown in the table linked above.

The lowest income relative to the thresholds was that of the unattached single considered employable, whose total welfare income was only 35 per cent of the LIM and 43 per cent of the LICO. The unattached single with a disability receiving BFE benefits also had a low income relative to the thresholds, at 41 per cent of the LIM and 49 per cent of the LICO. The highest was that of the unattached single with a disability receiving AISH benefits, whose income was 77 per cent of the LIM and 93 per cent of the LICO.

Households with children had comparable income-to-threshold levels: 64 per cent of the LIM and 90 per cent of the LICO for the single parent with one child, and 63 per cent of the LIM and 80 per cent of the LICO for the couple with two children.

Changes to adequacy of welfare incomes

The graphs below show the total welfare incomes of each of the five example household types in Alberta as a percentage of the Market Basket Measure (MBM), starting in 2002. The MBM has been updated twice since its creation in 2000 – first in 2008 and again in 2018. This “rebasing” updates the measure, including the items and costs included in the basket, to better reflect contemporary circumstances.

Three trendlines for each household are shown, which correspond to the relationship between welfare incomes and the original and rebased MBMs. Rebasing typically creates a higher poverty threshold than that of a previous base.

The 100 per cent threshold at the top of the vertical axis represents Canada’s Official Poverty Line. As such, the graphs essentially show how far below the poverty line the households have been in terms of their total welfare income over the past 20 years. The trendlines indicate changes in the level of poverty of the households within the years in which the bases are applied. A rise in the trendline within those periods indicates an improvement in their level of poverty while a decline indicates a worsening of the depth of their poverty.

A grey line has also been included that indicates the deep income poverty threshold, which is 75 per cent of the MBM. As such, the graphs also show the relationship between total welfare incomes over time and deep poverty.

Note that MBM thresholds reflect conditions in each province or territory and vary by size of community. The MBM threshold used here is for Calgary. Also note that the 2021 MBM thresholds are estimates based on increasing the 2020 thresholds to account for inflation. More information is in the methodology section.

The total welfare income of the unattached single considered employable declined relative to the MBM between 2002 and 2008, from 36 to 33 per cent of the poverty line. With the 2008 rebasing, their income declined slightly to 31 per cent of the poverty line, increasing to 39 per cent in 2009 and hovering at that same level for the next nine years to 2018. After the 2018 rebasing, their income declined again to 34 per cent of the poverty line, then increased through 2020 back to 40 per cent, and decreased again to 38 per cent in 2021.

Overall, the total welfare income of the unattached single considered employable remained flat relative to the poverty line across the entire time series, which means that this household is living at the same depth of poverty as they were in 2002. As well, the income of the unattached single considered employable was below the deep income poverty threshold across the entire time series, meaning they would have been living in deep poverty over the last 20 years.

The total welfare income of the unattached single with a disability receiving BFE benefits followed a similar trajectory to that of the unattached single considered employable. Between 2002 and 2008, their income relative to the MBM remained flat at between 53 and 55 per cent of the poverty line. With the 2008 rebasing, their income declined to 49 per cent and remained basically flat through 2018, where it stood at 51 per cent of the poverty line. After the 2018 rebasing, their income was 43 per cent of the poverty line. A 2020 increase to 46 per cent was followed by a decline in 2021 to 43 per cent of the poverty line.

Unlike the unattached single considered employable, the welfare income of the unattached single with a disability receiving BFE benefits was a full nine percentage points lower relative to the poverty line at the end of the time series than at the beginning. This means that their poverty has worsened significantly since 2002. In addition, their income was below the deep income poverty threshold across the entire time series, meaning they would have been living in deep poverty over the last 20 years.

The total welfare income of the unattached single with a disability receiving AISH benefits hovered at about 80 per cent of the poverty line between the time the program was created in 2006 and 2008. The 2008 rebasing resulted in a slight decline to 75 per cent of the poverty line but increased significantly between then and 2018, with an increase to 101 per cent of the poverty line in 2013 and a decrease to 98 per cent in 2018. After the 2018 rebasing, their income was 82 per cent of the poverty line. An increase to 86 per cent in 2020 was followed by a decline back to 82 per cent in 2021.

Overall, the welfare income of the unattached single with a disability receiving AISH benefits ended the time series at virtually the same level relative to the poverty line as it started, with some significant variations across the series. This household is living at virtually the same depth of poverty as they were in 2002. As well, while their income was above deep income poverty across the time series, with one year slightly above, they remained living in poverty over the last 20 years.

The welfare incomes of both households with children followed a very similar trendline relative to the poverty line. Both households saw their incomes relative to the poverty line stay generally stagnant between 2002 and 2008, with a noticeable spike in 2006. Between 2008 and 2018 their incomes relative to the poverty line increased fairly significantly. And between 2018 and 2021 their incomes rose from a lower level through 2020 with a decrease in 2021.

The single parent with one child had a total welfare income that started the time series at 59 per cent of the poverty line and ended in 2021 nine percentage points higher, at 68 per cent. Overall, this represents a notable reduction in the poverty of this household. However, it is important to note that their income remained below the deep income poverty threshold across the entire time series, meaning they would have been living in deep poverty throughout the last 20 years.

The total welfare income of the couple with two children started at the higher level of around 66 per cent of the poverty line and ended in 2021 at only 67 per cent. Overall, while some progress was made, particularly in the 2008-2018 period, this household is living at virtually the same depth of poverty as they were in 2002. And, as with the single parent with one child, the income of the couple with two children remained below the deep income poverty threshold and thus they would have been living in deep poverty throughout the last 20 years.