• 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 Ontario seeking financial assistance should visit this page.

Components of welfare incomes

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

• Federal and provincial child benefits (for households with children); and
• Federal and provincial 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 Ontario in 2021. All four households are assumed to be living in Toronto. 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 $10,105 for the unattached single considered employable to $32,657 for the couple with two children. The income of the unattached single with a disability was $15,449 and that of the single parent with one child was $23,777.

Basic social assistance: All households received Ontario Works (OW) benefits except for the unattached single with a disability who received Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) benefits. Monthly basic benefit amounts were unchanged in 2021.

Additional social assistance: No recurring additional social assistance benefits were available to the example households 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 Ontario Child Benefit, which increased with inflation from $121.75 to $122.83 per month per child in July 2021.

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 $87.80 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 Ontario of $300. The single parent with one child received the basic amount plus the single parent’s qualified dependant amount of $150, for a total of $450. The couple with two children received the basic amount, a spouse amount of $150, and the qualified dependant amount of $75 for each child, for a total of $600. The CAI increased in 2021 over 2020 amounts.

Provincial tax credits / benefits: All four households received the Ontario Trillium Benefit, which increased with inflation in July 2021. The unattached single considered employable received $59.00 per month from January to June and $59.50 per month from July to December. The unattached single with a disability received $61.08 per month from January to June and $61.58 per month from July to December. The single parent with one child received $90.08 from January to June and $90.83 from July to December. The couple with two children received $144.50 per month from January to June and $145.75 per month from July to December.

COVID-19 pandemic-related payments

The only pandemic-related payment available to the example Ontario 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 Ontario have changed over time. Note that the values are in 2020 constant dollars, and not in nominal dollars. This takes into account the effect of inflation as measured by the national Consumer Price Index given that inflation reduces real dollar values over time.

The total welfare incomes of unattached singles increased through the late 1980s to the time series peak in 1994. The welfare income of the unattached single considered employable saw a steep decline in 1995 and 1996, while that of the unattached single with a disability experienced a more gradual decline. A decline continued for both households until 2008. This was followed by a gradually increasing trend for the income of the unattached single considered employable, although that of the unattached single with a disability stayed nearly flat.

After two years of stagnation after 2017, the welfare incomes of these households increased in 2020, largely due to federal COVID-19 pandemic-related payments and the introduction of the federal climate action incentive. Declines in 2021, to $10,105 for the unattached single considered employable and $15,449 for the unattached single with a disability, were largely due to the loss of pandemic-related payments, as well as the impact of inflation on unchanged social assistance benefit amounts.

Total welfare incomes for households with children increased through the mid-1990s and fell sharply in 1995 and 1996. A period of more gradual decline followed until 2004, when a generally increasing trend with some fluctuations began. After a period of stagnation between 2010 and 2015, incomes went up, largely due to changes to federal child benefits. Decreases between 2017 and 2019 were followed by an increase in 2020, which was due primarily to federal COVID-19 pandemic-related payments and the introduction of the federal climate action incentive.

The 2021 decline, to $23,777 for the single parent with one child and $32,657 for the couple with two children, was due to the loss of pandemic-related payments, as well as the impact of inflation on unchanged social assistance benefit amounts.

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

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 Toronto 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 Ontario with all four poverty / low-income thresholds is available for download.

Poverty threshold comparisons

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

The welfare incomes of all four example household types in Ontario were below, and in one case less than half of, Canada’s Official Poverty Line in 2021, meaning all these households were living in poverty. All four households were also 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 $9,075 below the deep income poverty threshold and $15,468 below the poverty line. This means their income was only 53 per cent of the MBM-DIP and only 40 per cent of the MBM.

The unattached single with a disability fared better, with an income that was $3,730 below the deep income poverty threshold and $10,123 below the poverty line. This means their income was 81 per cent of the MBM-DIP and 60 per cent of the MBM.

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

The single parent with one child had the highest income relative to the poverty thresholds. Their income was $3,347 below the deep income poverty threshold and $12,388 below the poverty line. This means their income was 88 per cent of the MBM-DIP and 66 per cent of the MBM.

The couple with two children had a welfare income that was $5,702 below the deep income poverty threshold and $18,489 below the poverty line. In other words, their income was 85 per cent of the MBM-DIP and 64 per cent of the MBM.

Low-income threshold comparisons

The welfare incomes of these households were also below and in one instance lower than half of the low-income thresholds, as shown in the table linked above.

The unattached single considered employable had the lowest relative income, at 37 per cent of the LIM and 44 per cent of the LICO. The single parent with one child had the highest relative income, at 61 per cent of the LIM and 86 per cent of the LICO. The couple with two children had an income that was 59 per cent of the LIM and 76 per cent of the LICO. The unattached single with a disability had an income that was 56 per cent of the LIM and 68 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 Ontario 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 twenty 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 vary by province and community size, and so Toronto is used. 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 welfare income of the unattached single considered employable started the time series in 2002 at 45 per cent of the poverty line and stayed virtually the same for the next six years. After rebasing in 2008, their income was 41 per cent of the poverty line, increasing slightly over the next ten years to 46 per cent in 2017 and 2018. After the 2018 rebasing, their income was 40 per cent of the poverty line, followed by a slight bump to 42 per cent in 2020 and a decline back to 40 per cent in 2021.

Overall, the welfare income of the unattached single considered employable decreased across the entire time series, from the low level of 45 per cent of the poverty line in 2002 to an even lower 40 per cent in 2021. This represents a worsening of the depth of their poverty over the time series. As well, given that the income of the unattached single considered employable was below the deep income poverty threshold across the entire time series, 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 78 per cent of the poverty line, declining to 75 per cent in 2007 and 2008. After rebasing, their income was 70 per cent of the poverty line. For the next ten years, their income remained generally stable, reaching 71 per cent in 2018. After the 2018 rebasing, their income was 62 per cent of the poverty line, declining to 60 per cent in 2021.

Overall, the welfare income of the unattached single with a disability decreased by 18 percentage points relative to the poverty line between 2002 and 2021. This represents a significant worsening of the depth of their poverty across the time series. As well, their income started the time series above the deep income poverty threshold but fell below it starting in 2008, meaning that they would have been living in deep poverty for 14 of the past 20 years.

The welfare income of the single parent with one child started the time series in 2002 at 65 per cent of the poverty line, increasing to 71 per cent in 2007. After rebasing in 2008, their income was 65 per cent of the poverty line, increasing to 71 per cent in 2010 then falling through 2014 to 68 per cent and rising to 72 per cent in 2017. After 2018’s rebasing, their income was 63 per cent of the poverty line, increasing to 67 per cent in 2020 but falling to 66 per cent in 2021.

Overall, the welfare income of the single parent with one child was virtually the same in 2021 as it was in 2002, which indicates that there was no change to the depth of their poverty across the time series. As well, 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 welfare income of the couple with two children started the time series in 2002 at 61 per cent of the poverty line, increasing to 64 per cent in 2007. After rebasing in 2008, their income was 59 per cent of the poverty line, increasing to 65 per cent in 2010, followed by a generally increasing trend to 74 per cent in 2017. After the 2018 rebasing, their income was 64 per cent of the poverty line, increasing to 68 per cent in 2020 and falling to 64 per cent in 2021.

Overall, the welfare income of the couple with two children ended the time series only slightly higher relative to the poverty line in 2021, at 64 per cent, as it was in 2002, at 61 per cent. This indicates that their level of poverty remained virtually unchanged across the time series. 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.