Manitoba is the most generous province
But Canadians not as generous as Americans

Contact:

Jason Clemens, Director of Non-Profit Studies
The Fraser Institute
Telephone: (604) 714-4544

Release Date: 13 December 2000

VANCOUVER, BC — Manitoba ranks as the most generous province in Canada according to an article released today, "Canadian & American Monetary Generosity," published in the December issue of Fraser Forum, The Fraser Institute's monthly magazine. On a national basis, 26.4% of Canadian taxpayers donated to registered charities and contributed 1.07 percent of private income, representing an average annual donation of $822.

The results are based on The Fraser Institute's annual index of generosity which ranks the Canadian provinces and U.S. states on two aspects of monetary generosity: the percentage of taxpayers who donate to charities, and the relative size of those donations. Current data on volunteering in Canada was not available for inclusion in this year's index.

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."

Number of Donors

The first of the two variables measures the proportion of taxpayers who donate to registered charities. Manitoba received the highest rank with 30.6 percent of taxpayers donating to charity while Newfoundland ranked last with just 22.4 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. (Private income is a measure of the amount of income available after government extracts taxes). Manitoba again received the highest score with 1.5 percent of private income being donated to charity while Quebec received the lowest score with a mere 0.6 percent of private income being donated to charity.

Value of Charitable Donations

The average charitable donation made in each jurisdiction, was also included for interest. The results mirror the 1999 study with Alberta maintaining the highest average charitable donation in Canada of $1,037, while Quebec records the lowest average donation of $400.

Canadian Versus American Generosity

There appears to be very little differentiation between Canadians and Americans in terms of the percentage of each who donate to charities: 26.6 percent of American (itemized) taxpayers donated to charities while 26.4 percent of Canadian taxpayers did the same.

What is striking is the major difference between U.S. states and Canadian provinces in terms of the amount donated, whether measured by percentage of private income donated or the actual dollar value of the donation. For instance, Alberta, with the highest average donation, ranked 52nd when compared to the U.S. states.

"Contrary to the widely held opinion that Canada is a more giving society, the Canadian provinces, in fact, are strikingly less generous than our American counterparts," notes Clemens. "For instance, Manitoba reaches only 32nd position overall."

Competing Trends

While the proportion of taxpayers who donate to charities is declining in Canada, the percentage of income they donate has consistently increased.

Between 1996 and 1997, the provinces experienced an average decline of 4.9 percent in the percentage of taxpayers making donations, ranging from a decrease of 1.0 percent in BC to 9.8 percent in Quebec.

"This trend of a declining proportion of taxpayers supporting charities has been relatively constant throughout the 1990s. For example, between 1990 and 1997, the provinces experienced an average 13.8 percent decline in the percentage of taxpayers making charitable contributions, ranging from a decline of 7.1 percent in Newfoundland to 20.1 percent in Nova Scotia," says Clemens.

Between 1996 and 1997, Manitoba experienced the largest increase (13.7 percent) in the percentage of income donated to charities, compared to a provincial average increase of 9.2 percent. More startling are the increases recorded since 1990. On average, the provinces gave 21.0 percent more to charities as a percentage of income, led by British Columbia with a 36.0 percent increase.

This is in contrast to the United States where the percentage of American taxpayers donating to charities is increasing. On average, the percentage of income donated by U.S. states is also on the rise, increasing 56.2 percent between 1996 and 1997.

Conclusion

The overall rankings indicate that per capita income and geographic location influence provincial generosity. The trend, repeated from last year's index, indicates that western and have provinces perform fairly well, while eastern and have-not provinces perform relatively poorly.

"Although a much more rigorous analysis is required to draw any definitive conclusions, this seems to indicate a relationship between the amount of income available to individuals and the level of generosity observed in each province, and certainly between Canada and the U.S.," concludes Clemens.

Established in 1974, The Fraser Institute is an independent public policy organization based in Vancouver, with offices in Calgary and Toronto.

For further information or for a copy of the December issue of Fraser Forum contact:

Suzanne Walters, Director of Communications,
The Fraser Institute, (604) 714-4582,
Email suzannew@fraserinstitute.ca

The media release as well as the full article and rankings can be viewed on the web site at www.fraserinstitute.ca.

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