Manitoba leads donations as fewer taxpayers nationwide claim gifts to charity
The share of Canadians claiming charitable donations has dropped to its lowest level in at least 20 years, even as charities “face greater challenges to secure resources to help those in need,” warns a new Fraser Institute study.
The report, Generosity in Canada: The 2025 Generosity Index, finds that only 16.8 percent of tax filers donated to charity in 2023.
That is the smallest proportion since at least 2003, well below the 2004 peak when 25.4 percent of tax filers gave.
“The holiday season is a time to reflect on charitable giving, and the data shows Canadians are consistently less charitable every year,” said Jake Fuss, director of Fiscal Studies at the Fraser Institute and co‑author of the study.
He added that “a smaller proportion of Canadians are donating to registered charities than what we saw in previous decades, and those who are donating are donating less.”
The decline shows up in dollar terms as well.
Nationally, Canadian tax filers donated 0.52 percent of their aggregate income in 2023, down from 0.55 percent in 2013.
Regional patterns matter.
Manitoba stands out with the highest percentage of tax filers giving (18.7 percent) and the largest share of aggregate income donated among the provinces (0.71 percent), with an average annual donation of $2,855.
New Brunswick has the lowest provincial share of tax filers donating (14.4 percent), while Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador sit at the bottom for share of income donated (both 0.27 percent), with Quebec posting the lowest average donation at $1,194.
Alberta records a relatively high donor rate (17.0 percent), a 0.68 percent share of aggregate income, and the highest average annual donation at $3,622.
In the territories, participation drops sharply even as average gifts remain comparatively large.
Just 5.1 percent of Nunavut tax filers donated, the lowest rate in the country, yet the average annual contribution there reached $2,884.
Yukon and the Northwest Territories saw 14.1 percent and 10.2 percent of tax filers donating, with average annual gifts of $2,180 and $2,540 respectively.
Co‑author Grady Munro summed up the broader consequence: “This decline in generosity in Canada undoubtedly limits the ability of Canadian charities to improve the quality of life in their communities and beyond.”
