It might come as a bit of a shock to some, but it turns out Canadians are far less charitable than Americans.
A study released by the Fraser Institute, the non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank, shows that the amount of money Canadians donate to registered charities — as a share of their income — has dropped by more than 32 per cent since 2006.
In Newfoundland and Labrador, that number jumps to 37.2 per cent, second only to Ontario, which declined 37.9 per cent.
And of the 15 least-generous jurisdictions out of 64 examined, 12 of them are Canadian.
“Americans continue to be far more generous than Canadians with charitable giving, and that has been true for many years."
— Jason Clemens, Fraser Institute executive vice-president
“Canadians continue to donate less and less every year, which means charities face greater challenges to help those in need this holiday season and throughout the year,” Fraser Institute executive vice-president Jason Clemens stated in a release.
Whereas 25 per cent of Americans claimed donations on their tax returns in 2016, only one-in-five Canadians did so on their 2006 return, which represents a decline of 16.9 per cent since 2006.
Equally disconcerting for Canadian charities is that the total average amount of income donated by Canadians dropped from .78 per cent in 2006 to .53 per cent in 2016. Americans, by comparison, donated nearly three times that figure in 2016.
“Americans continue to be far more generous than Canadians with charitable giving, and that has been true for many years,” Clemens stated.
Read the full report, "Generosity in Canada and the United States: The 2018 Generosity Index."
