Fraser Institute Says Western Provinces are the Most Generous
Maritimes and Quebec at the Bottom
Contact:
Jason Clemens, Director of Non-Profit Studies ,
The Fraser Institute, (519) 254-1800 Email: jasonc@fraserinstitute.caSuzanne Walters, Director of Communications
The Fraser Institute, (604) 714-4582 Email: suzannew@fraserinstitute.caRelease Date: 20 December 1999
VANCOUVER, BC>>> Demonstrating the spirit of the holiday season, Saskatchewan is the most generous province, according to the 1999 Private Charitable Generosity Index, a new study released today by The Fraser Institute. Alberta, British Columbia, and Manitoba follow respectively on the rankings.
The Maritimes are comparatively less generous, occupying positions six through nine, with Nova Scotia at number six, followed by PEI, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland. Quebec lingers last at tenth spot on the list (see Table 1 for rankings).
Jason Clemens, Director of Non-Profit Studies at The Fraser Institute, stresses that, "Our index isn't meant to represent a definitive measure of generosity but allows us to better understand the differences between the provinces in their ability and willingness to voluntarily provide goods and services such as food banks, counselling, arts societies, and sports clubs."
US-Canada Generosity Index
In addition to measuring Canadian generosity, the study also evaluates US versus Canadian generosity. Working in conjunction with the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) in Dallas, the study assesses the generosity of the 10 provinces and the 50 US states.
"Contrary to the widely held opinion that Canada is a more giving society, the Canadian jurisdictions, in fact, are strikingly less generous than our US counterparts," notes Clemens. "For instance, Manitoba, the highest ranking Canadian province in the US-Canada Index only reaches 20th position overall." (The US-Canada Index does not include a measurement of volunteer hours).
"The most striking result of the study is the fact that the Canadian provinces rank dead last in terms of the dollar value of their donations relative to their southern neighbours," continues Clemens.
Clemens, along with co-author Dexter Samida, have constructed a generosity index that measures three aspects of generosity: the percentage of taxpayers who donate to charities, the relative size of those donations, and the amount of volunteer time donated to charities. These variables combine to provide a picture of how private donations and volunteering differ across jurisdictions. Although not used as a variable for the index, the study also ranks the dollar value of donations.
The generosity index measures three variables:
Donors to Taxpayers
The first of the three variables measured indicates the extent of generosity in each province by measuring the proportion of taxpayers who donate to registered charities. Manitoba received the highest score with 31.6 percent of taxpayers donating to charity while Newfoundland ranked last with just 23.6 percent of taxpayers making donations.
Relative Size of Donations
The second component of the index measures the percent of private income donated to registered charities. Manitoba again received the highest score with 1.28 percent of private income being donated to charity while Quebec received the lowest score with only 0.59 percent of private income being donated to charity. Private income is a measure of the amount of income available after government extracts taxes.
Volunteer Time
The final variable of the index is the number of per capita hours of volunteer time donated to charities. Alberta received the top score with 12.1 hours of volunteer time donated per year, per person, while Prince Edward Island received the lowest score with just 3.7 hours of volunteer time.
Conclusion
The overall rankings of the 1999 Private Charitable Generosity Index indicate that per capita income, and geographic location influence provincial generosity. The dominance of the western and 'have' provinces clearly indicates a relationship between the amount of income available to individuals and the level of generosity observed in each jurisdiction.
|
Table One: Canada-Only Private Charitable Generosity Index |
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|
Province |
Donors-to-Tax Filers |
Donations as a Percent of Private Income* |
Per Capita Volunteer Hours** |
Overall |
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|
Percent |
Index Score |
Percent |
Index Score |
# of Hours |
Score |
Rank |
Score |
|
|
Saskatchewan |
29.9% |
8.5 |
1.17% |
9.1 |
9.4 |
7.2 |
1 |
8.3 |
|
Alberta |
27.6% |
7.8 |
0.99% |
7.7 |
12.1 |
9.2 |
2 |
8.2 |
|
British Columbia |
24.5% |
7.0 |
1.13% |
8.8 |
11.1 |
8.5 |
3 |
8.1 |
|
Manitoba |
31.6% |
8.9 |
1.28% |
10 |
6.6 |
5.0 |
4 |
8.0 |
|
Ontario |
29.8% |
8.4 |
1.10% |
8.6 |
6.9 |
5.2 |
5 |
7.4 |
|
Nova Scotia |
26.8% |
7.6 |
1.04% |
8.1 |
6.6 |
5.0 |
6 |
6.9 |
|
P.E.I. |
30.3% |
8.6 |
1.20% |
9.3 |
3.7 |
2.8 |
6 |
6.9 |
|
New Brunswick |
25.8% |
7.3 |
1.13% |
8.8 |
5.3 |
4.0 |
8 |
6.7 |
|
Newfoundland |
23.6% |
6.7 |
1.01% |
7.8 |
5.3 |
4.0 |
9 |
6.2 |
|
Quebec |
26.3% |
7.4 |
0.59% |
4.6 |
4.8 |
3.6 |
10 |
5.2 |
|
* Private income is a measure of the income available after government has extracted taxes. ** Per capita calculated for individuals over the age of 15 in accordance with Statistics Canada methodology. Source: 1999 Private Charitable Generosity Index, Fraser Institute Public Policy Source. |
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Established in 1974, The Fraser Institute is an independent public policy organization based in Vancouver.
For further information contact:
Suzanne Walters, Director of Communications,
The Fraser Institute, (604) 714-4582,
Email suzannew@fraserinstitute.ca
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