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According to Statistics Canada, Canadian taxfilers reported making charitable donations totalling $8.5 billion in 2006, up 8.3% from 2005, while the number of donors decreased 1.4% to 5.8 million.
The amount of donations increased in all provinces and territories. The highest increases occurred in Alberta (+15.5%), the Yukon (+15.2%), and Newfoundland and Labrador (+13.9%).
The number of donors declined slightly in all provinces and territories, with the exception of Newfoundland and Labrador where the number remained relatively stable.
Nationally, 25% of all taxfilers claimed charitable donations, roughly the same proportion as in the past. Manitoba had the highest percentage of taxfilers who declared a donation, at 28%, followed by Ontario with 27%. These two provinces have shown the highest and second highest percentage of taxfilers claiming charitable donations for the past 10 consecutive years.
For taxfilers reporting donations, the median donation has increased each year since 1998. In 2006, the median donation was $250, up from $240 in 2005. In other words, among those reporting charitable donations, half gave more than $250 and half gave less.
Donors in Nunavut have led all provinces and territories in terms of median donation since 2000. This trend continued in 2006, with a median donation of $450. Donors in Prince Edward Island had the second highest median at $350, followed by donors in Newfoundland and Labrador with $330. The median donation increased in all provinces and territories in 2006.
Among census metropolitan areas, donors in Abbotsford, British Columbia had by far the highest median donation at $620. Toronto donors were next with a median of $360, slightly ahead of Vancouver with $340. It was the fourth year in a row that Abbotsford and Toronto reported the highest median donations.
Note: The databank on charitable donors provides information on taxfilers who claimed a tax credit for charitable donations on their income tax return for 2006. Only amounts given to charities and approved organizations for which official tax receipts were provided can be deducted. 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 2006 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 get better tax benefits. Consequently, the number of persons who made charitable donations may be higher than the number who claimed tax credits.
For more information about charitable giving in
Canada, visit: www.givingandvolunteering.ca.
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