Discover financial empowerment resources
Discover financial empowerment resources
Many Canadians assume that poverty among seniors is a minor issue. That the income security system provides enough for the elderly to live with dignity. But this new report reveals a different reality: 430,000 seniors in Canada live below the Official Poverty Line. Why does seniors’ poverty...
The policy brief, Provincial spending on housing and homelessness in Ontario, presents a stark reality: homelessness in Ontario is worsening, with chronic homelessness nearly doubling in just two years. The policy brief finds that: Homelessness is worsening: Over 81,000 Ontarians experienced...
Interpreting the data: Key takeaways from Welfare in Canada, 2023. For nearly 40 years, the annual Welfare in Canada series and its predecessors have documented the depth of poverty that persists for people receiving social assistance. The 2023 edition builds on this work to provide a...
Maytree has compiled an advocacy toolkit to help you advocate for the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB). This toolkit consists of an introduction, additional resources and frequently asked questions and the toolkit. You may download the toolkit by jurisdiction on their website: Advocacy...
The Welfare in Canada reports look at the total incomes available to those relying on social assistance (often called “welfare”), taking into account tax credits and other benefits along with social assistance itself. The reports look at four different household types for each province and...
The Canada Disability Benefit is an opportunity to guarantee that people with disabilities can live a life with dignity and have an adequate standard of living. For the new Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) to meet its goal of financially supporting and reducing poverty of people with disabilities,...
In Canada, governments provide seniors with a spectrum of income supports and programs intended to maintain a baseline standard of living in retirement. For many years, the social safety net has been praised for producing lower poverty rates for seniors, as measured by the Market Basket Measure...
Using data provided by provincial and territorial government sources, Welfare in Canada, 2021 describes the components of welfare incomes, how they have changed from previous years, and how they compared to low-income thresholds. Access the report here. During the launch event, the report’s...
The Social Assistance Summaries series tracks the number of recipients of social assistance (welfare payments) in each province and territory. It was established by the Caledon Institute of Social Policy to maintain data previously published by the federal government as the Social Assistance...
Financial empowerment (FE) is an approach to poverty reduction that focuses on improving the financial security of people living on low income. Evidence shows that embedding FE interventions into municipal welfare, employment, housing, shelter and health services can significantly boost service...
With a growing number of barriers to accessing vital services, we need to think critically about accessibility and people’s services experiences in the social and public sector. Human-centred design is an approach which centres the voices and lived experiences of people who are impacted in the...
Maytree released the 2020 edition of the Welfare in Canada report. For each province and territory, this report provides data and analysis on the total welfare income that households receiving social assistance would have qualified for in 2020, including COVID-19 pandemic-related supports. Welfare...
Narrowing the definition of disability used by the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) could have serious implications. Improving the program’s assessment process would yield better results for applicants, Ontario's social safety net, and the government. This report explores the role of...
The Social Assistance Summaries series tracks the number of recipients of social assistance (welfare payments) in each province and territory. It was established by the Caledon Institute of Social Policy to maintain data previously published by the federal government as the Social Assistance...
Ontario tenants who have fallen behind on their rent because of COVID-19 will need provincial help to stay housed when the current eviction ban is lifted. A new analysis calls for targeted rent relief, a gradual easing of the eviction ban, and a reintroduction of rent...
This policy backgrounder provides an overview of how provincial and territorial governments have decided to treat receipt of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) for those receiving social assistance and/or living in subsidized housing. It also looks at provisions for youth aging out of...
Marco Campana shares his five good ideas for nonprofit organizations to connect deeply with their clients and communities and to start thinking about what their work might look like in the post-pandemic new...
These reports look at the total incomes available to those relying on social assistance (often called “welfare”), taking into account tax credits and other benefits along with social assistance itself. The reports look at four different household types for each province and territory....
The federal government has indicated that it will expand WITB by approximately $250 million per year beginning in 2019 to “provide additional benefits that roughly offset incremental Canada Pension Plan (CPP) contributions for eligible low-income workers.”1 The changes to CPP will be phased in,...
This introductory article by guest editor, Elizabeth McIsaac of Maytree, provides an overview of the strategies and policies for rights-based poverty reduction in Canada beginning with the need for common language and goals. Referring to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural...
This is a short brief on the RESP and Canada Learning bond. Education savings are an important first step in making a post-secondary education more attainable for a low income student. The Canada Learning Bond, a federal grant that can only be received into a Registered Education Savings Plan...
Maytree recently published the latest count of social assistance recipients in Canada. Learn how many people in each province or territory were receiving social assistance in 2022-23, and how those numbers have changed over...
This paper focuses on proposed system transformation in Ontario Works, and explores the possibilities and limitations associated with the proposed changes in 2018. First, it looks at the broader context within which the government’s social assistance reforms are taking place. Second, it provides...
