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

Last updated in November 2022

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

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

• Recurring additional social assistance payments from the province;
• Federal and provincial child benefits (for households with children); and
• Federal 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 Quebec in 2021. All four households are assumed to be living in Montreal. 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 $12,968 for the unattached single considered employable to $39,659 for the couple with two children. The income of the unattached single with a disability was $14,724 and that of the single parent with one child was $24,532.

Basic social assistance: The unattached single considered employable and the couple with two children households received Aim for Employment benefits through the Social Assistance program. The unattached single with a disability received Social Solidarity program benefits. The single parent with one child received Social Assistance program benefits. Social Assistance and Social Solidarity benefits increase with inflation every January.

As part of basic benefits, all four households received the Monthly Adjustment, which increased in January 2021 to $45 per month for households receiving Social Assistance and $103 per month for the unattached single with a disability receiving Social Solidarity benefits.

The two households receiving Aim for Employment benefits received that program’s Participation Allowance. Our calculations reflect the maximum Participation Allowance amounts of $260 per month per adult for activities related to training or the acquisition of skills or $165 per month per adult for other types of activities, for both households. For single parents with children under five years old (i.e., under school age), our calculations include the Temporarily Limited Capacity Allowance (TLCA) of $140 per month from Social Assistance. These amounts remained unchanged in 2021.

Additional social assistance: In addition to basic assistance, both households with children received $1,020 through the Shelter Allowance administered through Revenu Québec, which increased from $80 to $100 per month in October. The couple with two children also received the annual School-Related Allowance of $76 for the ten-year-old and $123 for the 15-year-old, amounts that remained unchanged in 2021.

Federal child benefits: Both households with children received the Canada Child Benefit (CCB), which increased with inflation in July 2021 from $563.75 to $569.42 per month for a child under six years of age and from $475.66 to $480.41 per month for a child aged six to 17. In addition, the single parent of one child aged two received the COVID-19 pandemic-related CCB Young Child Supplement, given to CCB-eligible families with children under the age of six, of $300 per child in January, April, July, and October.

Provincial child benefits: Both households with children received the Family Allowance, which increases with inflation each January and, for 2021, was $2,547 for one child, and $5,094 for two children. The single parent with one child received the Family Allowance Single Parent Supplement of $893. The couple with two children also received the School Supply Supplement of $104 per child, which was slightly increased in 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. Three households also received the GST/HST credit supplement. The unattached single considered employable received $32.72, the unattached single with a disability received $72.56 and the single parent with one child received the maximum amount of $156.

Provincial tax credits / benefits: All four households received the Quebec Solidarity Tax Credit, which increased with inflation in July 2021, from $84.58 to $85.67 per month for the unattached single households, from $94.83 to $96.08 for the single parent with one child, and from $128.25 to $130.00 for the couple with two children.

COVID-19 pandemic-related payments

The only pandemic-related payment available to the example Quebec 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

The graphs below show how the total welfare incomes for each of the four example household types in Quebec 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 significant increases in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the welfare income of the unattached single considered employable declined until 2011, rose gradually, then increased substantially in 2019, largely due to the higher work-related allowances associated with the newly mandatory Aim for Employment program, and again in 2020.

The welfare income of the unattached single with a disability remained relatively flat through the 1990s and 2000s, with a more notable increase in 2012 and again in 2020. The total welfare incomes of both households declined in 2021. The large increase to the income of the unattached single with a disability in 2018 was due to enhancements in basic social assistance benefits.

The 2020 increases were due primarily to COVID-19 pandemic-related payments as well as regular inflationary increases to most benefits. The 2021 decline was due primarily to the loss of pandemic-related payments.

In 2021, the total welfare income of the unattached single considered employable was $12,968 and that of the unattached single with a disability was $14,724.

The total welfare income of the single parent with one child followed a generally increasing trend across the time series, with fluctuations in the late 1980s and early 1990s and spanning a low of $18,154 in 1989 and a high of $24,699 in 2020. Their income declined slightly to $24,532 in 2021.

The total welfare income of the couple with two children followed a similar trend, with much more significant increases in 2005, 2019, and 2020 and a steeper decline, to $39,659, in 2021. The 2020 high of $41,905 was a 52 per cent increase over the total welfare income of $27,491 at the start of the time series in 1986.

Increases between 2015 and 2017 were primarily the result of changes to federal child benefits. The large increase between 2018 and 2019 for the couple with two children was due to the inclusion of the Aim for Employment Participation Allowance for both adults, while the single parent received the much lower Temporarily Limited Capacity Allowance. The 2020 increases were due primarily to COVID-19 pandemic-related payments as well as yearly inflationary increases to most benefits. The decline in 2021 was primarily due to the loss of pandemic-related payments.

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 Montreal are used in the analysis below. As well, both the MBM and LIM thresholds 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 Quebec 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 Montreal.

The welfare incomes of all four example household types in Quebec were below Canada’s Official Poverty Line in 2021, meaning all these households were living in poverty. Two of the 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 $3,179 below the deep income poverty threshold and $8,561 below the poverty line. This means their income was 80 per cent of the MBM-DIP and 60 per cent of the MBM.

The unattached single with a disability fared better, with an income $1,423 below the deep income poverty threshold and $6,805 below the poverty line. In other words, their income was 91 per cent of the MBM-DIP and 68 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 single parent with one child had a welfare income that was above deep income poverty but below the poverty line. Their income was $1,696 above the deep income poverty threshold but $5,916 below the poverty line. In other words, their income was 107 per cent of the MBM-DIP but 81 per cent of the MBM.

The couple with two children had the highest income relative to the poverty thresholds. Their income was $7,366 above the deep income poverty threshold but still $3,399 below the poverty line. This means their income was 123 per cent of MBM-DIP but 92 per cent of the MBM.

Low-income threshold comparisons

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

The lowest income relative to these thresholds was that of the unattached single considered employable, whose total welfare income was only 47 per cent of the LIM and 57 per cent of the LICO. The highest was that of the couple with two children, whose welfare income was 72 per cent of the LIM and 92 per cent of the LICO. The unattached single with a disability had a welfare income of 54 per cent of the LIM and 65 per cent of the LICO. The single parent with one child had a welfare income of 63 per cent of the LIM and 88 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 Quebec 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 Montreal 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 56 per cent of the poverty line, decreasing to 52 per cent in 2008. With rebasing, their income was 46 per cent in 2008, then followed a very gradually increasing trend to 52 per cent in 2018. After the 2018 rebasing, their income was 46 per cent of the poverty line, increasing to 63 per cent in 2020 and ending the time series at 60 per cent in 2021.

Overall, the welfare income of the unattached single considered employable was slightly higher in 2021, at 60 per cent of the poverty line, than it was in 2002, at 56 per cent. This represents a modest improvement in the depth of their poverty across the time series, although their income remains well below the poverty line. Furthermore, it is important to note that 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 unattached single with a disability started the time series in 2002 at 80 per cent of the poverty line, then decreased slightly to 77 per cent in 2008. With rebasing their income was 69 per cent of the poverty line, very gradually increasing to 72 per cent in 2017 and 77 per cent in 2018. After 2018’s rebasing their income was 68 per cent of the poverty line, increasing to 71 per cent in 2020 and falling back to 68 per cent in 2021.

Overall, the welfare income of the unattached single with a disability was 12 percentage points lower relative to the poverty line, at 68 per cent, than it was in 2002, at 80 per cent. This indicates a worsening of their depth of poverty over 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 they would have been living in deep poverty for the last 14 years of the time period.

The welfare income of the single parent with one child started the time series at 82 per cent of the poverty line in 2002, increasing to 89 per cent in 2007 and declining slightly to 88 per cent in 2008. With rebasing, their income was 79 per cent of the poverty line in 2008, followed by a period of fluctuation until 2014 and an increasing trend through 2018, when their income stood at 87 per cent. After the 2018 rebasing, their income was 77 per cent of the poverty line, increasing to 81 per cent in 2020 and 2021.

Overall, the welfare income of the single parent with one child fared best relative to the poverty line among all four households until 2018, although their income began and ended the time series at virtually the same level – 82 per cent of the poverty line in 2002 and 81 per cent in 2021. This indicates that their depth of poverty did not change over the entire time series. However, it’s important to note that their income was above the deep income poverty threshold across the entire time series, meaning that while they were living in poverty for the last 20 years they were not in deep poverty.

The welfare income of the couple with two children followed a similar trendline to that of the single parent with one child until 2018. Their income started at 74 per cent of the poverty line in 2002 and increased to 81 per cent in 2007 and 80 per cent in 2008. After rebasing, their income was 71 per cent of the poverty line in 2008, followed by fluctuations through 2014 and an increase to 85 per cent in 2018. After the 2018 rebasing their income was 76 per cent of the poverty line, followed by a steep increase to 98 per cent in 2020 and a decline to 92 per cent in 2021.

Overall, the welfare income of the couple with two children was 18 percentage points higher in 2021, at 92 per cent of the poverty line, than it was in 2002, at 74 per cent. This indicates a significant improvement in the depth of their poverty across the time series. As well, their income was below the deep income poverty threshold for nine of the past 20 years, meaning while they were living in poverty they were not in deep poverty for the majority of the time period.