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Charitable donors, 2014

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Released: 2016-02-22

The total value of donations reported by Canadian taxfilers rose 2.3% to $8.8 billion in 2014. The largest increases were in Alberta (+5.4%), Manitoba (+4.6%) and Saskatchewan (+3.1%). Quebec (-3.4%) recorded the largest decrease in donations.

While the dollar amount of charitable donations increased over the previous year, the actual number of donating taxfilers fell by 0.5% in 2014. The number of donors declined in every province and territory, except Alberta (+0.2%) and British Columbia (+0.2%). The largest decrease in donors occurred in the Northwest Territories (-5.5%).

In 2014, 21.4% of all taxfilers claimed charitable donations, compared with 21.9% in 2013. Manitoba (24.8%), Prince Edward Island (23.6%) and Saskatchewan (22.9%) reported the highest proportions of taxfilers declaring a donation, the same top three as in 2013.

Nationally, the median donation was $280 in 2014, meaning that half of those claiming a donation gave more than $280, while the other half gave less than $280.

Although Nunavut had proportionately fewer donors than other provinces and territories, it reported the highest median donation ($490) among taxfilers claiming charitable donations. Alberta had the next highest median donation at $440, followed by British Columbia with $410. The lowest median donation amount was in Quebec at $130.

Among census metropolitan areas (CMAs), donors in Abbotsford–Mission, British Columbia, recorded the highest median charitable donation at $720. This was the 13th consecutive year that Abbotsford–Mission led the country with the highest median donation. Calgary and Vancouver tied for second, each with median donations of $430, followed by Saskatoon ($420).



  Note to readers

Canadians contribute in many ways to charitable organizations. These data include only amounts given to charities and approved organizations for which official tax receipts were provided and claimed on tax returns. It is possible to carry donations forward for up to five years after the year in which they were made. Therefore, donations reported for the 2014 taxation year could include donations that were made in any of the five previous years. According to tax laws, taxfilers are permitted to claim both their donations, and those made by their spouses to receive better tax benefits. Consequently, the number of people who made charitable donations is higher than the number who claimed tax credits.

Another source of donation data at Statistics Canada is the General Social Survey – Giving, Volunteering and Participating. This survey collects information on all monetary donations reported by individuals, regardless of whether or not the donation resulted in a tax credit.

All data in this release have been tabulated according to the 2011 Standard Geographical Classification used for the 2011 Census.

A census metropolitan area (CMA) is formed by one or more adjacent municipalities centred on a population centre (also known as the core). A CMA must have a total population of at least 100,000, of which 50,000 or more must live in the core.

Products

Data on Charitable Donors (Catalogue number13C0014, various prices) and Canadian Taxfilers (Catalogue number17C0010, various prices) are now available for Canada, the provinces and territories, federal electoral districts, economic regions, census divisions, census metropolitan areas, census agglomerations, census tracts, and postal-based geographies. These custom services are available upon request.

CANSIM tables for this release are available for Canada, the provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations.

Contact information

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@canada.ca) or Media Relations (613-951-4636; STATCAN.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.STATCAN@canada.ca).

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