Canadian donations to charity take a hit, drop to all-time low, study shows

A person carrying a box of donations. (Pexels/Photo by Gustavo Fring)

A new study from the Fraser Institute on Canadian generosity has found that the number of Canadians donating to charity dropped to the lowest point in two decades in 2023.

The Canadian public policy think tank study showed that around one-in-six Canadians — or just under 17 per cent — are making charitable donations on their tax returns.

The percentage of Canadians donating to charity dipped to 16.8 per cent in 2023 from 21.9 per cent in 2013, the study showed.

According to Jake Fuss, director of fiscal studies at the Fraser Institute, Canadians being less charitable has created challenges to “secure resources to help those in need.”

“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,” Fuss, who co-authored the Generosity in Canada: The 2025 Generosity Index, said in a news release.

Canadians’ generosity in terms of financial donations was the highest in 2004, with more than 25 per cent donating, the study said.

This is “bad news” for those who rely on donations for essentials, Fuss told CTVNews.ca Thursday.

“We’re seeing the percentage of income is declining, and this is not just nationally. It’s generally happening in most provinces as well,” he said. “We’re also seeing that the percentage of tax filers is declining as well.”

According to the study, the total amount donated to charity by Canadians has dropped to 0.53 per cent of their total income in 2023, compared to 0.55 per cent in 2013.

Manitoba topped the rankings, with 18.7 per cent of taxpayers donating to charity, the data found, followed by Ontario and Quebec with just over 17 per cent.

Meanwhile, New Brunswick had the lowest number of taxpayers donating to charity – only 14.4 per cent, followed closely by Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia with around 15 per cent.

“Sometimes one of the factors that drives whether people are more generous, for instance, is how sensitive the after-tax income is,” Fuss added. “If you have more after-tax income, you might be willing to donate more than people that have less after-tax income available to them.”

The report also noted which provinces donated the highest percentage of their aggregate income to charity.

Manitobans came out at the top of that list, followed by Alberta and B.C., with more than 0.60 per cent.

However, “residents of Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador were tied for last among the provinces,” the study said. Both donated 0.27 per cent of their aggregate income to charity, “slightly more than one-third the proportion of Manitobans,” according to the study.

The number of people who donated to charity decline in almost every Canadian province and territory relative to 2022, the study stated, adding that nearly every Canadian jurisdiction also saw a decline in the amount of aggregate income donated to charities in 2023.

“When you look at the data, the trends are happening across provinces,” Fuss said. “This isn’t unique to just one province or just a handful of provinces, we’re seeing declines across the board.

Meanwhile, the study found that the “depth of generosity” has been “considerably” higher in the U.S. than in Canada for several decades.

“In comparing the depth of charitable giving, Canadian provinces and territories typically do far worse than U.S. jurisdictions,” the study read.

Thirty-seven U.S. states, including D.C., gave a higher percentage of their total income to charity than any Canadian province or territory in the 2022 tax year.

“There’s a gap in religiosity levels between the countries. The U.S. also has larger education and health sectors for giving,” Fuss said. “Americans typically have higher income levels with higher levels of disposable or after-tax income, as well.”

States like Wyoming and Utah perform “significantly” above Manitoba – which is the highest-ranking Canadian jurisdiction, he added.

“This decline in generosity in Canada undoubtedly limits the ability of Canadian charities to improve the quality of life in their communities and beyond,” Grady Munro, policy analyst and co-author said in the news release.

Methodology: The study is compiled using the Canada Revenue Agency’s 2022 report on the Charities Program, the 1999 Private Charitable Generosity Index, Fraser Forum and Statistics Canada, along with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Economic Analysis and Internal Revenue Service data.