Social Policy Trends: Federal and Provincial Contributions to Social Assistance

FEDERAL AND PROVINCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO SOCIAL ASSISTANCESince 1997, the federal government has contributed a growing share of the total support provided to families receiving social assistancePersons receiving social assistance are given support in a number of ways by both the government of the province in which they live in and, increasingly, by the federal government. Support is provided in the form of basic social assistance, a GST and other tax credits, and, when children are involved, child tax benefits. The graph shows information for Alberta assuming a lone parent with one child aged less than 6 years. All values are adjusted for inflation. The height of the blue bars identifies the total provincial contribution given by the government of Alberta. It combines the amount of basic social assistance with minor additional benefits.