Over the past 10 years, Canadians have been donating significantly less to charities according to a new study conducted by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan think-tank.
The study collected data from Canada and the U.S., and found that Canadians are giving almost a third less to charities than we did ten years ago, and are “far less generous” than Americans.
Research from the study indicates that the amount of money Canadians donate to registered charities —as a share of their income — has dropped a significant 32.2% since 2006.
“Canadians continue to donate less and less every year, which means charities face greater challenges to help those in need this holiday season and throughout the year,” said Jason Clemens, Fraser Institute executive vice-president.
Canadians vs Americans
The study, Generosity in Canada and the United States: The 2018 Generosity Index, found that roughly one-in-five Canadians (20.4%) claimed charitable donations on their tax return in 2016.
That number is a 16.9% decrease since 2006.
In contrast, south of the border, almost one-in-four (24.8%) of Americans claimed donations on their tax returns in the same year.
Similarly, the average amount of income donated by Canadians per year dropped from 0.78% in 2006 to 0.53% in 2016.
Meanwhile, Americans nearly triple the Canadian donation average as they gave 1.46% of their income in 2016.
The study collected information from all 64 Canadian provinces and U.S. States, and Canada ranked low across the board.
Out of the 15 least-generous areas in North America, 12 of them are Canadian. Meanwhile the most giving province in the country is Manitoba, which only ranks 42nd out of the 64 regions.
Canada
Provinces across the country tended to rank in the 50s or 60s out of the regions in North America. Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Ontario all tie for 50th place, while BC comes in at 54th.
Nova Scotia follows our province at 55th place, with New Brunswick ranking 57th, and Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec tieing for 59th.
Meanwhile, our northern neighbours ranked near the bottom, with the Yukon coming 61st, Northwest Territories coming 63rd, and Nunavut rounding out the least generous place in North America at 64th.
