Please note that Welfare in Canada, 2024 has been updated since its original July publication to rectify errors in the calculation of the total welfare income of the unattached single with a disability household in Newfoundland and Labrador and in Overview sections relating to the analysis of changes in total welfare incomes between 2023 and 2024. The downloadable spreadsheets have also been updated to reflect the Newfoundland and Labrador data change. This may have an impact for researchers and others who are using this data. 

Before presenting a detailed analysis of total welfare incomes in each province and territory, in this section we provide an overview of the total welfare incomes in all 13 Canadian jurisdictions in 2024, highlighting the key trends, differences, and similarities in welfare incomes across Canada.

This section includes

• A cross-Canada overview of total welfare incomes,
• An analysis of changes to welfare incomes from the previous year, 
• An overview of income adequacy relative to Canada’s poverty measures, 
• An analysis of income adequacy by household, and
• An analysis of the proportion of total welfare income from provincial/territorial and federal sources by household.

We have separated the analysis for the provinces and the territories because there are significant differences in the cost of living and the nature of income security programs in the North.

Note that the assumptions behind these calculations are available in the Methodology.

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Provinces

Total 2024 welfare incomes in the provinces and changes since 2023

Table 1CA shows the maximum total welfare incomes that each of the example household types in each province would have received in 2024. It also compares the difference between the 2023 and 2024 total welfare incomes of households in each province without adjusting for inflation. 

The cost of living increased nationally by about 2.4 per cent in 2024.(Statistics Canada. (2024, January 16). Consumer Price Index, annual average, not seasonally adjusted.) As such, households whose total welfare incomes increased by less than 2.4 per cent would have been worse off in 2024 than in the previous year. Note that the national Consumer Price Index (CPI) is used instead of regional CPIs. 

Although the CPI measure of inflation reflects changes in consumption patterns and remains the most robust indicator of changes to living costs, it is important to recognize that inflation impacts households in very different ways depending on their circumstances.

Table 1CA: Total welfare incomes in 2024 and per cent change between 2023 and 2024 for all example households in each province, current dollars

* The national rate of inflation between 2023 and 2024 was 2.4 per cent, as discussed above.

Highest and lowest total welfare incomes by household:

• Unattached single considered employable: The highest total welfare income was for the household in Quebec receiving Manpower Training measure (MAN) benefits at $26,341. The lowest was for Nova Scotia at $9,415. (In Quebec, approximately only 2 per cent of social assistance recipients receive MAN benefits, representing a very small proportion of the total caseload in the province.)
• Unattached single with a disability: The highest total welfare income was for the household in Alberta for the household receiving benefits from the Alberta Income for the Severely Handicapped program at $23,732. The lowest was also in Alberta, for the household receiving benefits through the Barriers to Full Employment (BFE) program at $12,714.
• Single parent with one child: The highest total welfare income was for the household in Prince Edward Island at $32,320. The lowest was for the household in New Brunswick at $25,604.
• Couple with two children: The highest total welfare income was for the household in Prince Edward Island at $52,217. The lowest was for the household in Nova Scotia at $35,482.

Cost-of-living payments (Welfare in Canada has included inflation-related cost-of-living payments in our total welfare income calculations since 2022. Please see the 2022 and 2023 editions for details on payments that were available in those years.), which are additional one-time financial supports related to the higher cost of living resulting from high inflation, were made available to households in three of the ten provinces in 2024: British Columbia, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. 

In British Columbia, both households with children received a supplement to the BC Family Benefit, called the BC Family Benefit Bonus, for the last six months of 2024 in the amount of $36.50 per month for the first child and $22.81 per month for the second child. In New Brunswick, all example households received the Household Supplement, which was a new basic social assistance benefit provided to all households in the amount of $200 per person per month starting in February 2024. In Nova Scotia, the couple with two children received a one-time increase to the School Supplies Supplement; the benefit for the ten-year-old increased by $20 from $80 to $100 and the benefit for the 15-year-old increased by $40 from $160 to $200.

The federal government’s one-time Grocery Rebate, which was available to all example household types in every province in 2023, was no longer available in 2024. 

Note that these amounts are included in and are not in addition to the amounts in Table 1CA above. The Methodology section outlines the methodology used to determine which benefits were included in our calculations and how we accounted for benefit changes related to the higher cost of living in 2024.

Note also that although many temporary support measures introduced during the pandemic have ended, the cost of living has not returned to pre-pandemic levels. This ongoing disparity underscores the continued financial pressure faced by many households.

Trends in welfare income changes in the provinces since 2023

The analysis in this section relates to the data in Table 1CA above. The changes described are detailed in Table 2CA below. 

Total welfare income increases above inflation: Half of the example households in the provinces – 22 out of 44, or 50 per cent – saw welfare incomes rise by more than the cost of living between 2023 and 2024. This means their incomes kept up with or exceeded the rising cost of living.

Figure 1CA: Welfare income changes vs. inflation in the provinces, per cent of households, 2024

The highest percentage increase was for the unattached single considered employable in New Brunswick at 27.3 per cent. The unattached singles with a disability in Nova Scotia and in New Brunswick followed with increases above 20% (at 21.9% and 21.3%, respectively). The other 20 increases ranged between 2.5 and 11.4 per cent. 

The reasons for these increases varied and are detailed in each jurisdiction’s Total welfare incomes sections. It is notable that three jurisdictions – British Columbia, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia – introduced new income streams for low-income people in their jurisdictions, either through social assistance benefits or tax credits. 

Total welfare income increases below inflation: Just over a third of the example households – 16 out of 44, or 36 per cent – saw their total incomes increase in real dollars between 2023 and 2024 at a rate below the 2.4 per cent inflation increase, which means their incomes did not keep up with the rising cost of living.

The below-inflation increases for the households in Alberta, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Saskatchewan were primarily because investments intended to improve social assistance and child benefits either through specific policy change or because of indexation to inflation were countered by the loss of federal one-time cost-of-living supports; in some cases, this was coupled with the elimination of provincial inflationary support payments.

It is important to note that in some provinces, no changes were made to some or all of their basic social assistance benefits in 2024. This was the case for the households in British Columbia (for the Basic Support Allowance), Manitoba (for Basic Necessities), Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario (for Ontario Works), and Quebec (for Manpower Training program benefits).

Total welfare income decreases: Six of the 44 households, or about 14 per cent, saw their total incomes decrease in real dollars between 2023 and 2024.

The steepest declines were in Alberta, where four of the five households saw declines of between -0.7 and -1.5 per cent. The main reason for these declines was the elimination of federal one-time inflation-related cost-of-living supports and the Alberta Affordability Payment.

Declines also occurred in Ontario (for the unattached single considered employable) and Quebec (for the couple with two children receiving MAN benefits) as a result of the loss of federal one-time inflation-related cost-of-living supports paired with the stagnating value of provincial social assistance benefits in Ontario (for Ontario Works) and Manpower Training benefits in Quebec.

Breakdown of welfare income changes in the provinces since 2023

Table 2CA summarizes the changes in total welfare income components across the 10 provinces, categorized into provincial basic and additional social assistance benefits, provincial child benefits and tax credits, and federal benefits.

Table 2CA: Changes to total welfare incomes in the provinces, 2024

Adequacy of welfare incomes in the provinces in 2024

The data in this section shows how the 2024 total welfare incomes of each example household type in the provinces compare to the Market Basket Measure (MBM), which is Canada’s Official Poverty Line, and the Deep Income Poverty (MBM-DIP) threshold, for 2024. 

As discussed in our Methodology section, both the total welfare incomes and these poverty thresholds are calculated for the largest city in each province. This is reflected in the black and grey lines in Figures 3CA through 6CA, which show that the poverty thresholds vary depending on region. The figures also show the wide range in the adequacy of total welfare incomes across Canada’s provinces. 

The MBM is used in our analysis to identify which example households would have been living in poverty in 2024. The MBM-DIP, which is equivalent to 75 per cent of the Official Poverty Line, is used to identify which example households would have been living in deep poverty in 2024. As a 2020 Institute for Research on Public Policy report indicates, “Living in deep poverty means that individuals and families must use all of their income to meet basic necessities such as shelter and food, making it virtually impossible to address other needs or plan for their future.”(Herd, D., Kim, Y., & Carrasco, C. (2020, September 15). Canada’s forgotten poor? Putting singles living in deep poverty on the policy radar. Institute for Research on Public Policy.)

Note that neither the MBM nor the MBM-DIP accounts for the higher cost of living faced by people with disabilities and that these additional costs are not reflected in our analysis.

Overview

The welfare incomes of 43 of the 44 example households in the provinces were below Canada’s Official Poverty Line. This means that 98 per cent of the example households were living in poverty in 2024. The only exception was in Quebec, where the welfare income of the unattached single considered employable (MAN) was 107 per cent of the poverty threshold. It is important to note, however, that only about 2 per cent of social assistance recipients received MAN benefits in 2024, representing a very small share of the total caseload in the province. (Oliveira, T. (2025). Social Assistance Summaries, 2024. Maytree.)

Figure 2CA: Total welfare incomes relative to poverty thresholds in the provinces, per cent of households, 2024

In addition, 36 of the 44 example households – or 82 per cent – were living in deep poverty or at the level of the deep poverty threshold in 2024. These households had welfare incomes that were between 45 and 100 per cent of the MBM-DIP, and between 34 and 75 per cent of the MBM. 

Note that, of the 43 households living in poverty, 36 – or 84 per cent – were living in deep poverty. 

Between 2023 and 2024, very few changes occurred in total household income relative to the Official Poverty Line and the Deep Income Poverty threshold:

• None of the incomes of the 56 example households moved above or below either threshold.
• The income of the unattached single considered employable (MAN) remained above the MBM but with a slight decline in adequacy.
• The incomes of some remained above the MBM-DIP but with slight improvements in adequacy: the couple with two children in Prince Edward Island; and the single parent with one child and couple with two children (AIM) in Quebec.
• The incomes of some households remained above the MBM-DIP, but with slight declines in adequacy: the unattached single with a disability in Alberta (AISH), Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island; the single parent with one child in Prince Edward Island; and the couple with two children (MAN) in Quebec.

Adequacy by household

Unattached single considered employable: Figure 3CA shows the relationship between the total welfare incomes of the example unattached single considered employable households in the provinces and both the Official Poverty Line (MBM) and the Deep Income Poverty threshold (MBM-DIP). The Official Poverty Line is indicated by the black lines, and the Deep Income Poverty threshold is indicated by the grey lines. 

Figure 3CA: Adequacy of total welfare incomes for example unattached single considered employable households in the provinces, 2024

• 10 of the 11 unattached single considered employable households in the provinces had incomes below the MBM and as such would have been living in poverty in 2024.
• All 10 of these 11 households also had incomes below the MBM-DIP and therefore would have been living not only in poverty but in deep poverty. 
• The one household that was not below the MBM had a welfare income that was 7 per cent above the Poverty Line: the unattached single considered employable receiving the Manpower Training measure in Quebec.
• The two households that came closest to the MBM-DIP were the household in Prince Edward Island, at 90 per cent, and the household in Quebec receiving the Aim for Employment program, at 82 per cent.
• The welfare incomes of the remaining eight households were below 50 per cent of the Poverty Line. The lowest were in Alberta at 37 per cent, in Ontario at 36 per cent, and Nova Scotia at 34 per cent.

Unattached single with a disability: Figure 4CA shows the total welfare incomes of the example unattached single with a disability households in the provinces relative to both the Official Poverty Line (MBM) and the Deep Income Poverty Threshold (MBM-DIP). The Official Poverty Line is indicated by the black lines, and the Deep Income Poverty threshold is indicated by the grey lines.

Figure 4CA: Adequacy of total welfare incomes for example unattached single with a disability households in the provinces, 2024

• All 12 of the example unattached single with a disability households would have been living in poverty. Nine of the 12 would have been living in deep poverty.
• Two households had the highest incomes relative to the MBM: the household in Alberta receiving AISH would have been living at 80 per cent, and the household in Newfoundland and Labrador would have been living at 78 per cent. These households were the only ones with welfare incomes above the MBM-DIP.
• The household in Prince Edward Island was living at 75 per cent of the MBM, meaning they would have lived at the level of the Deep Income Poverty threshold.
• The household with the least adequate welfare income was the Alberta household receiving BFE, at 43 per cent of the Poverty Line, followed by the households in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, both at 54 per cent.

Single parent with one child: Figure 5CA shows the total welfare incomes of all the example single parent with one child households in the provinces relative to both the Official Poverty Line (MBM) and the Deep Income Poverty Threshold (MBM-DIP). The Official Poverty Line is indicated by the black lines, and the Deep Income Poverty threshold is indicated by the grey lines.

Figure 5CA: Adequacy of total welfare incomes for example single parents with one child in the provinces, 2024

• All ten of the example single parent with one child households in the provinces would have been living in poverty in 2024. Eight of these would have been living not only in poverty but in deep poverty.
• The household with the most adequate welfare income was in Prince Edward Island at 84 per cent of the MBM.
• The household with the least adequate welfare income was in Nova Scotia, at 57 per cent of the Poverty Line and 76 of the Deep Income Poverty threshold, followed closely by the household in Ontario, at 58 per cent of the Poverty Line and 78 per cent of the Deep Income Poverty threshold.
• Only two of the ten households had welfare incomes above their Deep Income Poverty thresholds: Prince Edward Island and Quebec.

Couple with two children: Figure 6CA shows the total welfare incomes of all example couple with two children households in the provinces relative to both the Official Poverty Line (MBM) and the Deep Income Poverty threshold (MBM-DIP). The Official Poverty Line is indicated by the black lines, and the Deep Income Poverty threshold is indicated by the grey lines.

Figure 6CA: Adequacy of total welfare incomes for example couple with two children households in the provinces, 2024

• All 11 of the example couple with two children households had incomes below the Official Poverty Line in 2024. 
• Eight of the 11 also had incomes below the MBM-DIP and would have therefore been living not only in poverty but in deep poverty.
• The three households that were closest to the Poverty Line – and the only ones that had income above the MBM-DIP threshold – were in Quebec, at 94 per cent of the MBM for the AIM household and 98 per cent for the MAN household, and in Prince Edward Island, at 96 per cent.
• The households with the least adequate welfare incomes were in Ontario and New Brunswick, at 60 and 63 per cent of the Poverty Line, respectively. 

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Territories

Total 2024 welfare incomes in the territories and changes since 2023

Table 3CA shows the maximum total welfare incomes that the example households in each territory would have received in 2024. As mentioned earlier, although we calculated the incomes in the territories using the same methodology that we used for the provinces, the provinces and territories are not directly comparable due to significant differences in the cost of living and the nature of income security programs in the North.

Table 3CA also compares the 2023 and 2024 total welfare incomes of households in each territory without adjusting for inflation. The cost of living increased nationally by about 2.4 per cent in 2024. As such, households whose total welfare incomes increased by less than 2.4 per cent would have been worse off in 2024 than in 2023.

Although the Consumer Price Index (CPI) measure of inflation reflects changes in consumption patterns and remains the most robust indicator of changes to living costs, it is important to recognize that high inflation in 2024 and the increased cost of living may have impacted the households in very different ways depending on their circumstances. Note that the national CPI is used instead of regional CPIs.

Table 3CA: Total welfare incomes in 2024 and per cent change between 2023 and 2024 for all example households in each territory, current dollars

* The national rate of inflation between 2023 and 2024 was 2.4 per cent, as discussed above.

Welfare incomes in the Northwest Territories and the Yukon were generally higher than those in the provinces, reflecting the higher cost of living in the territories. However, welfare incomes in Nunavut were considerably lower than in the other two territories; this is because many households who receive social assistance in Nunavut also live in public housing where rent and other housing costs are highly subsidized. (See “Components of welfare incomes” and “Changes to welfare incomes” in the Nunavut section of this report for further information.)

Highest and lowest total welfare incomes by household:

• Unattached single considered employable: The highest total welfare income was in the Northwest Territories at $29,281. The lowest was in Nunavut at $12,571. 
• Unattached single with a disability: The highest total welfare income was in the Northwest Territories at $34,200. The lowest was in Nunavut at $15,629.
• Single parent with one child: The highest total welfare income was in the Yukon at $43,655. The lowest was in Nunavut at $22,659.
• Couple with two children: The highest total welfare income was in the Yukon at $64,761. The lowest was in Nunavut at $38,648.

Cost-of-living payments, which are additional one-time financial supports related to the higher cost of living resulting from high inflation, were made available to all households in two of the three territories in 2024: the Northwest Territories and the Yukon. (Welfare in Canada has included inflation-related cost-of-living payments in total welfare income calculations since 2022. Please see the 2022 and 2023 editions for details on payments that were available in those years.)

In the Northwest Territories, the one-time cost-of living additional benefit was paid in March 2024 to all households. The amount ranged from $343 to $717 depending on the community the household lived in. Given that our households are assumed to be living in each jurisdiction’s largest town or city, our calculations include the Yellowknife rate of $343.

In the Yukon, the additional cost-of-living payment that was introduced in April 2023 was extended through all of 2024. These monthly payments were $100 for both unattached single households, and $200 and $400 for the single parent with one child and for the couple with two children, respectively.

The federal government’s one-time Grocery Rebate, which was available to all example household types in every territory in 2023, was no longer available in 2024. 

The Methodology section outlines the methodology used to determine which benefits were included in our calculations and how we accounted for benefit changes related to the higher cost of living in 2024. Note that cost-of-living payment amounts are included in and are not in addition to the amounts in Table 3CA.

Note also that although many temporary support measures introduced during the pandemic have ended, the cost of living has not returned to pre-pandemic levels. This ongoing disparity underscores the continued financial pressure faced by many households.

Trends in welfare income changes in the territories since 2023

The analysis in this section relates to the data in Table 3CA above. The changes described are detailed in Table 4CA below. 

Figure 7CA: Welfare income changes vs inflation in the territories, per cent of households, 2024

Total welfare income increases above inflation: 10 households in the territories saw their total incomes increase by more than 2.4 per cent between 2023 and 2024. 

The highest percentage increase was for the couple with two children in the Northwest Territories, at 7.3 per cent, followed by the unattached single considered employable, at 6.1 per cent. Five other households saw total income increases between 5.1 and 5.5 per cent. The three other households saw increases between 3.0 and 4.6 per cent.

The increases in the Northwest Territories were primarily due to the implementation of the Basic Benefit Allowance in July 2024, which represents a restructuring of and significant increase to the previous Food and Clothing allowances. The amount of the Basic Benefit Allowance was aligned with the Northern Market Basket Measure (MBM-N) amounts for these cost items. The increases were also the result of the One-Time Additional Benefit paid in March 2024. 

The increases in the Yukon were primarily due to the extension of the Inflation Relief Payment of $100 per person per month, which was a cost-of-living payment introduced in April 2023, combined with the territory’s regular indexation of social assistance benefit amounts. 

The increases in Nunavut were primarily because 2024 was the first full year that households received the much higher Basic Allowance amounts, which were increased in April 2023, and the Nunavut Carbon Credit. 

Total welfare income increases below inflation: Two of the households in the territories saw their total incomes increase below the rate of inflation in 2024. Despite the increases detailed above, the unattached single with a disability and the single parent with one child in the Northwest Territories saw a significantly reduced amount paid for fuel and utilities. Given that the Northwest Territories pays actual amounts for fuel and utilities, and our calculations include average amounts paid to recipients in our household types, this may have been the result of lower numbers of recipients of these household types rather than reductions in real utilities costs.

Total welfare income decreases: None of the households in the territories saw their total incomes decrease in 2024.

Breakdown of welfare income changes in the territories since 2023

Table 4CA summarizes the changes in total welfare income components across the three territories, categorized into territorial basic and additional social assistance benefits, territorial child benefits and tax credits, and federal benefits.

Table 4CA: Changes to total welfare incomes in the territories, 2024

Adequacy of welfare incomes in the territories in 2024

The data in this section shows how the 2024 total welfare incomes of each example household type in the territories compare to the Northern Market Basket Measure (MBM-N), which is Canada’s Official Poverty Line for the territories, and the Northern Deep Income Poverty (MBM-N-DIP) threshold, for 2024. (In November 2022, Statistics Canada released the finalized Northern Market Basket Measure (MBM-N) for the Northwest Territories and the Yukon. The Northern Market Basket Measure for Nunavut was finalized in November 2023. Since then, it has become possible to assess the adequacy of welfare incomes in the territories using these thresholds, which are updated annually.)

As discussed in our Methodology section, both the total welfare incomes and these poverty thresholds are calculated for the largest city in each territory. This is reflected in the black and grey lines in Figures 1CA through 4CA, which show that the poverty thresholds vary depending on region. The figures also show the range in the adequacy of total welfare incomes across Canada’s territories. 

The MBM-N is used in our analysis to identify which example households would have been living in poverty in 2024. The MBM-N-DIP, which is equivalent to 75 per cent of the Official Poverty Line, is used to identify which example households would have been living in deep poverty in 2024. 

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 experienced by the example households in Nunavut.

Note that neither the MBM-N nor the MBM-N-DIP accounts for the higher cost of living faced by people with disabilities and that these additional costs are not reflected in our analysis.

Overview

Of the 12 households in the territories, all had a total welfare income that was at or below the MBM-N in 2024. Five of the households had incomes that were below the MBM-N-DIP, which means that 42 per cent of the households would have been living in deep poverty in 2024. The other seven, or 58 per cent, had incomes that were between the MBM-N-DIP and the MBM-N or at the MBM-N. 

Figure 8CA: Total welfare incomes relative to poverty thresholds in the territories, per cent of households, 2024

Between 2023 and 2024: 

•  One of the incomes of the 12 example households moved from below to at the level of the MBM-N: the couple with two children in the Yukon.
• The incomes of some households remained above the MBM-N-DIP but with slight improvements in adequacy: the unattached single considered employable and couple with two children in the Northwest Territories; and the unattached single with a disability, the single parent with one child, and the couple with two children in the Yukon.
• The income of some remained above the MBM-N-DIP, but with slight declines in adequacy: the unattached single with a disability and the single parent with one child in the Northwest Territories.
• The incomes of others remained below the MBM-DIP: all households in Nunavut and the unattached single considered employable in the Yukon. Note that the couple with two children and Nunavut and the unattached single considered employable in the Yukon both saw a slight improvement in adequacy.

Adequacy by household

Unattached single households: Figure 8CA shows the total welfare incomes of all the example unattached single considered employable and unattached single with a disability households in the territories relative to both the Official Poverty Line (MBM-N) and the Deep Income Poverty Threshold (MBM-N-DIP). The Official Poverty Line is indicated by the black lines, and the Deep Income Poverty threshold is indicated by the grey lines.

Figure 9CA: Adequacy of total welfare incomes for example unattached single households in the territories, 2024

• All six unattached single households in the territories would have been living in poverty in 2024 and, of those, three would have been living in deep poverty.
• Of these households, the household with the highest income relative to the MBM-N was the unattached single with a disability living in the Northwest Territories, with an income of 94 per cent of the Poverty Line. 
• The two households with the least adequate welfare incomes were both in Nunavut, with the unattached single considered employable at 27 per cent of the MBM-N and 36 per cent of the MBM-N-DIP, and the unattached single with a disability at 34 per cent of the MBM-N and 45 per cent of the MBM-N-DIP. See the discussion about Nunavut’s MBM-N thresholds above.

Households with children: Figure 9CA shows the total welfare incomes of all example single parent with one child and couple with two children households in the territories relative to both the Official Poverty Line (MBM-N) and the Deep Income Poverty Threshold (MBM-N-DIP). The Official Poverty Line is indicated by the black lines, and the Deep Income Poverty threshold is indicated by the grey lines.

Figure 10CA: Adequacy of total welfare incomes for example households with children in the territories, 2024

• All six households with children in the territories would have been living in poverty in 2024 and, of those, two would have been living in deep poverty.
• The couple with two children in the Yukon had the most adequate welfare income at 100 per cent of the MBM-N, followed by the single parent with one child in the Yukon at 96 per cent of the MBM-N. 
• As with the unattached single households, Nunavut had the least adequate welfare incomes for households with children, with the single parent with one child at 35 per cent of the MBM-N and 46 per cent of the MBM-N-DIP, and the couple with two children at 42 per cent of the MBM-N and 56 per cent of the MBM-N-DIP. See the discussion about Nunavut’s MBM-N thresholds above.

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Federal income supports as a proportion of total welfare incomes

Households receiving provincial or territorial social assistance benefits in 2024 were also eligible for tax-delivered supports from those jurisdictions and from the federal government.

The benefits available to Welfare in Canada households from the federal government in 2024 were the GST/HST Credit (and Credit Supplement, where applicable), the Canada Child Benefit for households with children, and the Canada Carbon Rebate (formerly known as the climate action incentive) for households in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Ontario. 

Figures 7CA and 8CA below show how much of the total welfare incomes of households receiving social assistance in all 13 provinces and territories came from provincial or territorial versus federal sources in 2024. Figure 7CA shows the data for unattached single households while Figure 8CA shows the data for households with children.

As these figures show, the proportion of income received from federal sources is far surpassed by the proportion received from provincial or territorial sources in all jurisdictions, especially for unattached single households.

Figure 11CA: Proportion of total welfare income from provincial/territorial vs federal sources for unattached single households, 2024

Benefits from provincial or territorial sources made up between 89.2 and 98.5 per cent of the welfare incomes of unattached singles in 2024, with only 1.5 to 10.8 per cent coming from federal sources. 

These households received between $335 and $1,376 from federal sources, which for unattached singles was the GST/HST Credit (and Credit Supplement, where applicable), and, in the eight provinces listed above, the Canada Carbon Rebate. Note that these amounts are lower than in 2023 as a result of the elimination of the federal government’s one-time Grocery Rebate, which was paid through the GST/HST Credit. 

Note also that the addition of the Canada Carbon Rebate significantly increased the federal proportion. Those households who only received the GST/HST Credit saw only between 1.5 and 2.7 per cent of their income come from federal sources, while those who also received the Canada Carbon Rebate saw between 4.6 and 10.8 per cent come from federal sources. 

Figure 12CA: Proportion of total welfare income from provincial/territorial vs federal sources for households with children, 2024

Households with children received a much larger proportion of their total welfare incomes from the federal government than unattached single households in 2024. They received between 19 and 43 per cent of their incomes from federal sources, with between 56 and 81 per cent from provincial or territorial sources. 

The difference in proportionality between households with children and unattached single households stems not only from the higher actual amounts of federal income supports provided to households with children through the GST/HST Credit (and Credit Supplement, where applicable) and the Canada Carbon Rebate, but also and primarily because these households also received the Canada Child Benefit. Households with children in our analysis received between $8,452 and $15,596 in federal payments, which contrasts with the much lower amounts for unattached single households.

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Access to data

All Welfare in Canada, 2024 data is available for download, including:

1. Components of welfare income for all households, with a breakdown of cost-of-living payments where applicable.
2. Welfare incomes in 2024 constant dollars over time for all households.
3. Welfare incomes in current dollars over time for all households.
4. Adequacy of welfare incomes: a comparison of each household’s welfare income with all four poverty and low-income thresholds in the provinces, and with the two poverty thresholds in the territories.
5. Adequacy over time: each household’s welfare income relative to the Official Poverty Line (MBM or MBM-N) in the provinces from 2002 to 2024, and for each household in the territories from 2018 to 2024.