Welfare in Canada is a series that presents the welfare incomes of four example households living on social assistance in a given year. 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 territory. Welfare in Canada, 2017 looks at the maximum total amount that a household (an individual or family) would have received over the course of the 2017 calendar year, assuming they had no other source of income and no assets. Some households may have received less if they had income from other sources, while some households may have received more if they had special health- or disability-related needs.

The report looks at:

• Eligibility criteria for social assistance
• Components of a household’s total welfare income
• Variations in welfare incomes by province/territory
• Changes in welfare incomes over time
• Adequacy of welfare incomes compared to poverty thresholds