Components of welfare incomes
In Prince Edward Island, 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 and provincial tax credits or benefits.
Together, these components form a household’s total welfare income. Households may receive less if they have income from other sources, or more if they have special health- or disability-related needs.
In 2022, all example households received additional payments from both the provincial and federal governments related to the increased cost of living due to high inflation. These payments are included where applicable in the table below.
Table 1PE shows the value of the welfare income components of the four example household types in Prince Edward Island in 2022. All four households are assumed to be living in Charlottetown, receiving provincial social assistance starting January 1 and for the entire year, and earning no employment income. The child in the single-parent household is two years old and the children in the couple household are ten and 15. Other assumptions for calculating incomes are in the methodology section.
Table 1PE: Components of welfare incomes for all example households in Prince Edward Island, 2022
*AccessAbility Supports provides people with a disability with an Assured Income benefit made up of allowances for food, essentials, and community living, as well as a shelter benefit. AccessAbility Supports recipients can also access other income supports depending on their circumstances.
Total annual welfare incomes in 2022 ranged from $16,861 for the unattached single considered employable to $47,897 for the couple with two children. The income of the unattached single with a disability was $18,715 and that of the single parent with one child was $30,162.
Basic social assistance: Three of the example households received benefits through the Social Assistance program. The unattached single with a disability received benefits through AccessAbility Supports. In January 2022, the former monthly Basic Allowance (BA) amounts were collapsed into a single monthly Basic Unit Rate (BUR). The BUR was higher than the BA amounts by $50 per month for the unattached single considered employable, $121 per month for the single parent with one child, and $375 per month for the couple with two children. Monthly BUR amounts increased again in December 2022 to include the formerly separate $25 per adult Local Transportation amount as well as an additional $36 for both unattached single households, $58 for the single parent with one child, and $123 for the couple with two children. (Note, however, that the Local Transportation amount was previously part of the Assured Income benefit for the unattached single with a disability and was incorporated into their BUR as of January 2022.) In December 2022, monthly shelter allowance amounts also increased by $56 for the unattached single households, $39 for the single parent with one child, and $50 for the couple with two children.
In addition, the unattached single with a disability received a monthly Community Living Expense amount of $150.
The unattached single with a disability is also eligible for a wide range of disability-specific supports through the AccessAbility Supports Program, including personal, housing, caregiver, and community supports. These supports are provided based on a monthly funding ceiling that is determined according to a capability assessment and through case management wherein clients identify eligible supports within the ceiling amounts. Eleven monthly funding ceiling levels range from $0 (non-funded supports) to $4,000. Funding is typically paid directly to the service provider.
Additional social assistance: The couple with two children received an additional $450 through the School Allowance ($100 for the ten-year-old and $125 for the 15-year-old, issued in both August and December, which did not change in 2022). As well, the Communication Rate of $40 per month for unattached single households or $60 per month for households with dependants became available to all households as of December 2022.
In March 2022, a One-Time Inflation Top-Up Payment of $150 per individual in the household (including children) was provided to all households relying on social assistance and Assured Income in recognition of higher costs resulting from high inflation.
Federal child benefits: Both households with children received the Canada Child Benefit (CCB), which increased with inflation in July 2022 from $569.42 to $583.08 per month for a child under six years of age and from $480.41 to $491.91 per month for a child aged six to 17.
The COVID-19 pandemic-related CCB Young Child Supplement of $1,200 that the single-parent household received in 2021 was not available in 2022.
Provincial child benefits: Prince Edward Island does not currently have a child benefit program.
Federal tax credits/benefits: All four households received the GST/HST credit, which increased in July 2022 with inflation. The unattached single considered employable and the unattached single with a disability received $302.50 in basic GST/HST credit, while the single parent with one child received $605 and the couple with two children received $923. Three households also received the GST/HST credit supplement: the unattached single considered employable received $60.43, the unattached single with a disability received $96.43, and the single parent with one child received the maximum amount of $159.
All households received a one-time GST credit payment related to the increasing cost of living due to high inflation, paid in November 2022. The unattached single considered employable received $187.73, the unattached single with a disability received $205.73, the single parent with one child received $386.50, and the couple with two children received $467.
Provincial tax credits/benefits: All four households also received the PEI Sales Tax Credit (STC) of $110 per year for an individual plus $55 for a spouse, common-law partner, or eligible dependant. These amounts remained unchanged in 2022.
In addition, all four households received a one-time Carbon Rebate payment of $140 per household, paid in July 2022 with the STC, as part of continuing discussions between the provincial and federal governments about carbon pricing programs.
A one-time inflationary support payment was also paid in July 2022 with the STC to eligible residents earning $70,000 or less per year, in the amount of $150 per single-person household and $300 per couple or single parent.
Two benefits related to addressing the impact of Hurricane Fiona were paid in PEI in 2022. A one-time relief payment of $150 for each social assistance or Assured Income recipient and dependant was made in September, while a one-time payment of $250 was made through the Red Cross in fall 2022.
Cost-of-living payments
As mentioned above, all four households received payments from both the provincial and federal governments related to the higher cost of living resulting from high inflation in 2022. Two one-time provincial inflationary support payments totalled $300 for the two unattached single households, $600 for the single parent with one child, and $900 for the couple with two children. The federal one-time GST credit payment was paid in November 2022 and was equivalent to the two regular GST credit (and credit supplement if applicable) payments received in the latter half of 2022.
Table 2PE: Cost-of-living payments for all example households in Prince Edward Island, 2022
Changes to welfare incomes
Figures 1PE and 2PE show how the total welfare incomes for each of the four example household types in Prince Edward Island have changed over time. Note that the values are in 2022 constant dollars, not real 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.
It is important to note that Prince Edward Island is the only jurisdiction in which the total welfare incomes of all the example households increased in 2022 or, in the case of the single parent with one child, remained virtually the same.
Figure 1PE: Welfare incomes for example unattached single households in Prince Edward Island 1986–2022, 2022 constant dollars
After a period of growth through the late 1980s, the total welfare income of the unattached single considered employable declined significantly between 1991 and 1996, followed by a long period of near stasis that lasted until 2017. Large increases from 2018 through to 2022 culminated in a total welfare income of $16,861 in 2022, which is an increase of 77 per cent compared to 2017 and eight per cent compared to 2021 in constant dollars.
The total welfare income of the unattached single with a disability saw a similar trend through the early 1990s, with a less severe decline through the 1990s, a steep drop in 2003, and a period of relative stability through 2017. Increases from 2018 through to 2021 resulted in a total welfare income for this household of $18,715 in 2022, which is an increase of 52 per cent compared to 2017 and five per cent compared to 2021 in constant dollars.
The increases in 2018 were due to a change in shelter allowance policy for the unattached single considered employable in recognition of PEI’s changing rental market, and the introduction of an Assured Income for the unattached single with a disability through the AccessAbility Supports program. Increases in 2019 through 2022 were due to the combination of basic benefit increases, provincial and federal COVID-19 pandemic-related payments in 2020 and 2021, and inflation- and Hurricane Fiona-related support payments in 2022.
Figure 2PE: Welfare incomes for example households with children in Prince Edward Island 1986–2022, 2022 constant dollars
The welfare income of the single parent with one child saw a slight rise in income through the late 1980s and early 1990s, followed by declines through the 1990s, a period of relative stasis to the mid-2000s, and gradual increases through to 2019. The welfare income of the couple with two children followed a similar trajectory. Changes to federal child benefits between 2015 and 2017 account for the increases in those years, while higher basic social assistance benefits since 2017, provincial and federal COVID-19 pandemic-related payments in 2020 and 2021, and inflation- and Hurricane Fiona-related support payments in 2022 saw welfare incomes reach their highest levels.
In 2022, the total welfare income of the single parent with one child was $30,162. This represents a slight decrease of $32 compared to 2021 in constant dollars, which is largely due to the loss of the federal CCB Young Child Supplement and the impact of high inflation. The total welfare income of the couple with two children was $47,897, which is an increase of six per cent compared to 2021 in constant dollars.
Adequacy of welfare incomes
The adequacy of a household’s total welfare income can be assessed by comparing it to established thresholds of poverty and/or low income.
As mentioned in the Introduction, there are two commonly used measures of poverty in Canada:
- 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 represents a basic standard of living.
- The Deep Income Poverty (MBM-DIP) threshold 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 (i.e., 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 food, clothing, and shelter.
Note that MBM thresholds vary by province and community size, and LICO thresholds vary by community size. As such, we use the thresholds for the province’s largest city, Charlottetown, in the analysis below. As well, the LIM thresholds for 2022 are estimates based on increasing the 2021 thresholds to account for inflation.
Also note that none of the poverty or low-income measures currently in use in Canada accounts for the higher cost of living faced by people with disabilities, and that these additional costs are not reflected in our analysis.
More information about the thresholds is available in the methodology section.
A table containing comparisons of the welfare incomes of the four example household types in Prince Edward Island with all four poverty/low-income thresholds is available for download.
Poverty threshold comparisons
Figures 3PE and 4PE compare 2022 welfare incomes for the four example household types to the MBM and MBM-DIP thresholds for Charlottetown.
The welfare incomes of all four example household types in Prince Edward Island were below Canada’s Official Poverty Line in 2022, and two of the four were below the MBM-DIP. This means that all four PEI households were living in poverty in 2022, and two of the four were living in deep poverty.
Figure 3PE: Welfare incomes and poverty thresholds for example unattached single households in Prince Edward Island, 2022
The unattached single considered employable had the lowest income relative to the poverty thresholds. Their income was $2,277 below the Deep Income Poverty threshold and $8,656 below the Poverty Line. This means their income was 88 per cent of the MBM-DIP and 66 per cent of the MBM.
The unattached single with a disability fared better, with a welfare income that was only $423 below the Deep Income Poverty threshold and $6,802 below the Poverty Line. This means their income was 98 per cent of the MBM-DIP and 73 per cent of the MBM.
Note that the poverty experienced by people with disabilities is underrepresented because neither the MBM nor the MBM-DIP account for the additional costs associated with disability.
Figure 4PE: Welfare incomes and poverty thresholds for example households with children in Prince Edward Island, 2022
The single parent with one child had a welfare income that was $3,101 above the deep poverty threshold but $5,920 below the Poverty Line. This means their income was 111 per cent of the MBM-DIP but 84 per cent of the MBM.
The welfare income of the couple with two children was the highest relative to the poverty thresholds. Their income was $9,622 above the Deep Income Poverty threshold but remained below the Poverty Line by $3,136. This means their income was 125 per cent of the MBM-DIP and 94 per cent of the MBM.
Low-income threshold comparisons
The welfare incomes of all four households were below the LIM threshold and two households were below the LICO threshold, 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 58 per cent of the LIM and 83 per cent of the LICO. The highest income relative to the thresholds was that of the couple with two children, whose total welfare income was 82 per cent of the LIM and 125 per cent of the LICO.
The unattached single with a disability had an income that was 64 per cent of the LIM and 92 per cent of the LICO. The income of the single parent with one child was 73 per cent of the LIM and 122 per cent of the LICO.
Changes to adequacy of welfare incomes
Figures 5PE and 6PE show the total welfare incomes of each of the four example household types in Prince Edward Island as a percentage of the Market Basket Measure (MBM), starting in 2002.
The black line at the top of each of the graphs (i.e., the 100 per cent threshold) represents Canada’s Official Poverty Line. This means that the graphs show how far below the Poverty Line the four households’ total welfare incomes have been in each year over the past 20 years.
The grey line indicates the Deep Income Poverty threshold, which is 75 per cent of the MBM. The graphs therefore also show the relationship between total welfare incomes and deep poverty in each year over the past 20 years.
Three trendlines for each household are shown in the graphs. These lines illustrate the relationship between welfare incomes and changes made to the MBM due to “rebasing.” The two rebasings, occurring in 2008 and 2018, are indicated with a dotted vertical line. Rebasing updates the measure, including the items and costs included in the basket, to better reflect contemporary circumstances, and typically creates a higher poverty threshold than that of a previous base. The trendlines demonstrate changes to household poverty levels within the years in which each base is applied. A trendline rise within those periods indicates an improvement in a household’s level of poverty while a decline indicates a deepening of their poverty.
Note that MBM thresholds reflect the conditions in each province and vary by community size. The MBM thresholds used here are for Charlottetown. More information is in the methodology section.
Figure 5PE: Welfare incomes as a percentage of the MBM for example unattached single households in Prince Edward Island, 2002–2022
The welfare income of the unattached single considered employable was lowest relative to the Poverty Line of all the example households. In 2002, their income was only 43 per cent of the Poverty Line. After a long period of relative stasis, their income began to improve relative to the Poverty Line in 2018, reaching its highest level of 66 per cent of the Poverty Line in 2022.
Overall, the income of the unattached single considered employable increased by 23 percentage points relative to the Poverty Line across the entire time series. This represents a substantial improvement in the depth of their poverty over the past 20 years. It is important to note, however, that this household was living below the Deep Income Poverty threshold across the entire time series and was still living in deep poverty in 2022.
The welfare income of the unattached single with a disability started the time series in 2002 at 64 per cent of the Poverty Line, after which it declined and plateaued until 2017. Starting in 2018, their income also experienced increases relative to the Poverty Line, ending the time series at its highest point: 73 per cent.
Overall, the welfare income of the unattached single with a disability was nine percentage points higher relative to the Poverty Line in 2022 than at the start of the time series in 2002. This represents an improvement in the depth of their poverty over the past 20 years. However, despite recent gains, their income was below the Deep Income Poverty threshold across the entire time series, meaning that they would have consistently lived in deep poverty for the last 20 years.
Figure 6PE: Welfare incomes as a percentage of the MBM for example households with children in Prince Edward Island, 2002–2022
The welfare income of the single parent with one child started the time series at 66 per cent of the Poverty Line, staying relatively constant through to 2013, then increasing until 2017. After the 2018 rebasing, their income declined relative to the Poverty Line, then increased steadily through to 2022, where it ended the time series at 84 per cent of the Poverty Line.
Overall, the welfare income of the single parent with one child ended the time series 22 percentage points higher relative to the Poverty Line than it began in 2002. This indicates a significant improvement in the depth of their poverty across the entire time series. Despite the important progress made in recent years, their income remained below the Deep Income Poverty threshold for most of the time series, meaning that they consistently lived in deep poverty for the majority of the time period.
The welfare income of the couple with two children fared best relative to the Poverty Line among all four households. Starting the time series at 72 per cent of the Poverty Line, their income stayed relatively constant through to 2014, then increased through to 2017. After 2018, their income fluctuated relative to the Poverty Line, ending the time series at the high point of 94 per cent of the Poverty Line.
Overall, the welfare income of the couple with two children ended the time series 22 percentage points higher relative to the Poverty Line than it began in 2002. Again, this indicates a significant improvement in the depth of their poverty across the time series. However, their income was below the Deep Income Poverty threshold for most of the time series, meaning that they consistently lived in deep poverty for the majority of the time period prior to the recent progress.
Access to data
The data for Prince Edward Island is available for download, including:
- Components of welfare income for all households, with a breakdown of cost of living-related payments.
- Welfare incomes in 2022 constant dollars over time for all households.
- Welfare incomes in real dollars over time for all households.
- Adequacy of welfare incomes: a comparison of each household’s welfare income with all four poverty and low-income thresholds.
- Adequacy over time: each household’s welfare income relative to the Official Poverty Line (MBM) from 2002–2022.