• 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 Manitoba seeking financial assistance should visit this page.

Components of welfare incomes

In Manitoba, households that qualify for basic social assistance payments also qualify for:

• Recurring additional social assistance payments from the province;
• Federal 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 four example household types in Manitoba in 2021. All four households are assumed to be living in Winnipeg. 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.

Total annual welfare incomes in 2021 ranged from $9,922 for the unattached single considered employable to $32,621 for the couple with two children. The unattached single with a disability received $13,685 and the single parent with one child received $25,238.

Basic social assistance: Monthly basic social assistance benefit amounts for all four example households remained unchanged in 2021.

Additional social assistance: Unlike all other jurisdictions in Canada, all four households received more in additional social assistance benefits than they received in basic social assistance benefit amounts, primarily because support for housing costs was delivered through Manitoba’s Rent Assist program.

In July 2021, Rent Assist benefits were increased for all households receiving social assistance. The unattached single considered employable received $576 per month for the first six months of the year and $578 monthly for the second six months; the unattached single with a disability received $632 and $657; and the single parent with one child and the couple with two children received $896 and $930.

The unattached single with a disability also received the Income Assistance for Persons with Disabilities benefit of $1,260 ($105 per month) and the couple with two children received the annual School Supplies Allowance of $60 for the ten-year-old and $100 for the 15-year-old. 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: Neither of the example households with children received the Manitoba Child Benefit because parents receiving social assistance in Manitoba are categorically ineligible.

Federal tax credits / benefits: All four households received the GST/HST credit, which increased in July 2021 with inflation. The unattached single considered employable and the unattached single with a disability 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. Two households also received the GST/HST credit supplement. The unattached single with a disability received $56.82 and the single parent with one child received the maximum amount of $156.

All four households also received the federal climate action incentive (CAI) payment. The unattached single considered employable and the unattached single with a disability received the basic CAI payment amount for Manitoba of $360. The single parent with one child received the basic amount plus the single parent’s qualified dependant amount of $180, for a total of $540. The couple with two children received the basic amount, a spousal amount of $180, and the qualified dependant amount of $90 for each child, for a total of $720. 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 Manitoba 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 four example household types in Manitoba 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 peaking in 1992, the welfare income of the unattached single considered employable declined steadily until 2007. After a 2009 increase and subsequent period of relative stasis until 2013, increases continued until 2016, which were primarily due to enhancements in Manitoba’s Rent Assist program.

The increase between 2019 and 2020 was due primarily to the federal climate action incentive benefit and to new federal COVID-19 pandemic-related payments. The decline to $9,922 in 2021 is primarily due to the loss of the pandemic-related payments, as well as to the impact of inflation on unchanged social assistance benefit amounts.

The welfare income of the unattached single with a disability followed a similar trajectory, with a much higher peak in 1992 and an earlier levelling out and period of stasis, between 2005 and 2009. A similar dip in value between 2010 and 2013 was followed by increases through 2016 which, as noted above, were due to enhancements in Manitoba’s Rent Assist program. The decrease in 2019 in the income of the unattached single considered employable was not mirrored in the income of the unattached single with a disability. However, the 2020 increase was due to the same factors as those behind the increase to the welfare income of the unattached single considered employable, as was the decline to $13,685 in 2021.

The welfare income of the single parent with one child remained relatively constant from the start of the time series until 2014, hovering between 1992’s peak of $20,067 and 2000’s low of $17,241. Starting in 2015, their income began to increase. While their income was flat between 2017 and 2019, it increased again in 2020, due primarily to federal COVID-19 pandemic-related payments. The slight decrease to $25,238 in 2021 was due to the loss of most of the value of those payments.

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.

The total welfare income of the couple with two children was relatively high in the early 1990s, followed by a decline into the 2000s, with slight fluctuations through the mid-2010s. As increases began in 2015, the welfare income trajectory mirrored that of the single parent with one child. The decline in 2021, to $32,621, was primarily due to the loss of all COVID-19 pandemic payments, as well as the impact of inflation on unchanged social assistance benefit amounts.

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 Winnipeg 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 four example household types in Manitoba with all four poverty / low-income thresholds is available for download.

Poverty threshold comparisons

The figures below compare 2021 welfare incomes for the four example household types to the MBM and MBM-DIP thresholds for Winnipeg.

The welfare incomes of all four example household types in Manitoba were below Canada’s Official Poverty Line in 2021, meaning all these households were living in poverty. Furthermore, three of the households were living in deep poverty in 2021, as defined by the MBM-DIP, while one was very slightly above deep poverty.

The unattached single considered employable had the lowest income relative to the poverty thresholds. Their income was $7,648 below the deep income poverty threshold and $13,505 below the poverty line. This means their income was only 56 per cent of the MBM-DIP and only 42 per cent of the MBM.

The unattached single with a disability fared better, with an income that was $3,884 below the deep income poverty threshold and $9,741 below the poverty line. In other words, their income was 78 per cent of the MBM-DIP and 58 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 incomes of households with children were comparable to each other and, relative to the poverty thresholds, higher than those of single people.

The income of the single parent with one child was the only example household with a welfare income above the deep income poverty threshold. Their income was $391 above that threshold but remained below the poverty line by $7,891. In other words, their income was 102 per cent of the MBM-DIP but 76 per cent of the MBM.

The income of the couple with two children was $2,518 below the deep income poverty threshold and $14,231 below the poverty line. This means their income was 93 per cent of the MBM-DIP and 70 per cent of the MBM.

Low-income threshold comparisons

The welfare incomes of these households were also below, and in some instances lower than half of, 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 36 per cent of the LIM and 44 per cent of the LICO. The highest was that of the single parent with one child, whose welfare income was 65 per cent of the LIM and 91 per cent of the LICO.

The unattached single with a disability had an income of only 50 per cent of the LIM and 60 per cent of the LICO. The income of the couple with two children was 59 per cent of the LIM and 76 per cent of the LICO.

Changes to adequacy of welfare incomes

The graphs below show the total welfare incomes of each of the four example household types in Manitoba 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 Winnipeg. 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 was the same in 2002 as in 2008, at 45 per cent of the poverty line. In the period 2008 through 2018, their welfare income increased from 41 per cent to 52 per cent of the poverty line. After the 2018 rebasing, their income was at 44 per cent and fluctuated over the next four years within two percentage points, ending at 42 per cent of the poverty line in 2022.

Overall, the total welfare income of the unattached single considered employable was slightly less, relative to the poverty line, in 2021 than it was in 2002. Thus, this household is living at a slightly worse depth of poverty than they were 20 years ago. As well, the income of 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 welfare income of the unattached single with a disability started the time series at a much higher level than that of the unattached single considered employable, at 67 per cent of the poverty line, but followed virtually the same trend lines. After a slight decline in 2008, to 65 per cent, rebasing resulted in an income of 60 per cent of the poverty line. This was followed by a slight decline through 2013 and an increase through 2018, to 66 per cent of the poverty line. After the 2018 rebasing their income was 56 per cent of the poverty line, followed by an increase to 61 per cent in 2020 and a decrease to 58 per cent in 2021.

The total welfare income of the unattached single with a disability declined by nine percentage points relative to the poverty line across the entire time series, from 67 per cent in 2002 to 58 per cent in 2021. This means that this household was living in deeper poverty in 2021 than it was in 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 two households with children began the time series at the same level relative to the poverty line, at 73 per cent in 2002. Thereafter, the welfare income of the single parent with one child declined slightly, returning to 73 per cent of the poverty line in 2008. Between 2008 and 2018, the welfare incomes of the two households followed nearly the same track again, with that of the single parent with one child declining from 67 per cent in 2008 to 61 per cent in 2013, then rising to a high of 83 per cent of the poverty line in 2017 followed by a slight decline to 82 per cent in 2018. After 2018’s rebasing, their welfare income increased from 70 per cent of the poverty line to 76 per cent in both 2020 and 2021.

Overall, the total welfare income of the single parent with one child increased only slightly relative to the poverty line, from 73 per cent in 2002 to 76 per cent in 2021, which means they were living in only slightly better circumstances in 2021 than they were in 2002. In addition, the income of the single parent with one child was below the deep income poverty threshold for most of the time series, only rising above deep income poverty for four of the past 20 years.

The total welfare income of the couple with two children moved from 73 per cent of the poverty line in 2002, through 78 per cent in 2004, to 76 per cent in 2008. Following rebasing, their welfare income followed a very similar trajectory to that of the single parent with one child, starting at 68 per cent of the poverty line in 2008, moving through a low of 63 per cent in 2013 and 2014, and to a high of 81 per cent in 2017. The 2018 rebasing resulted in an income of 68 per cent of the poverty line, which was lower than that of the single parent with one child after rebasing. Their income increased to 74 per cent of the poverty line in 2020 but fell again to 70 per cent in 2021.

Overall, the total welfare income of the couple with two children was lower at the end of the time series relative to the poverty line than it was at the start, which means this household was living in slightly deeper poverty in 2021 than they were in 2002. As well, the income of the couple with two children was below the deep income poverty for 13 years of the time series, meaning they would have spent most of the last 20 years living in deep poverty.