How Much Is Welfare in Canada? 2026 Rates by Province

Welfare in Canada pays a single adult $687 to $1,154 or more a month in 2026, depending on the province, and that money has to cover rent. Disability assistance pays more, from $955 in New Brunswick to $1,940 on Alberta’s AISH. In Ontario, you get $733 on Ontario Works and $1,436 on ODSP.

Every amount on this page is the standard monthly maximum for one adult with no children who rents alone, taken from each province’s own rate table as of November 2026. Most provinces pay your actual rent up to a cap, so if your rent is lower than the cap, your cheque is smaller too. Couples, families and people in shared housing get different amounts.

How much is welfare in each province?

The table gives the most a single adult can get each month on each province’s welfare program and on its disability program. Prince Edward Island, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut don’t publish one monthly figure, because they work out each person’s amount from their rent, utilities and other needs.

Some of these amounts depend on where you live or on your situation. Alberta’s $860 is for someone who’s expected to work and rents privately. It’s $619 in social housing, and $1,000 for someone who can’t work full time because of a health problem or another barrier. Saskatchewan pays $990 elsewhere in the south and $1,060 in its Northern Administration District, and SAID pays $1,214 in the rest of the province. Newfoundland and Labrador’s $1,154 is made up of $561 for basic needs, up to $522 for rent and $71 for fuel. In Labrador the fuel amount is $132, for a total of $1,215, and coastal Labrador adds a $150 cost-of-living allowance.

Which province pays the most?

Among the provinces, Newfoundland and Labrador pays the most welfare at $1,154 or more, ahead of BC and northern Saskatchewan at $1,060. New Brunswick pays the least at $687, then Ontario at $733 and Nova Scotia at $738. Yukon’s Whitehorse rates add up to more than any province’s, partly because they include heat and power.

For disability, Alberta’s AISH pays the most of any province at $1,940 and New Brunswick the least at $955. Quebec’s Basic Income Program pays $1,707, but only after years on its Social Solidarity Program.

Welfare for a single adult stays far below the poverty line. Maytree’s Welfare in Canada report (opens in a new tab) adds federal and provincial tax credits to each province’s welfare. It found that in 2025, a single adult considered employable got 33% of the poverty line (the Market Basket Measure) in Ontario, 35% in Nova Scotia and 37% in Alberta, the three lowest shares among the provinces.

How much is disability assistance in each province?

Disability assistance pays a single adult between $955 and $1,940 a month in 2026. It’s a separate program from welfare in most provinces, with a higher amount and a higher limit on savings. You usually need a medical report showing that your disability limits your ability to work.

Ontario: ODSP

The Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) pays up to $1,436 a month (opens in a new tab): $825 for basic needs and up to $611 for rent. It went up 1.9% in July 2026, and Ontario raises it with inflation every July. $1,436 is about twice what Ontario Works pays: $343 for basic needs and up to $390 for rent.

Quebec: Social Solidarity and Basic Income

Quebec’s Social Solidarity Program (opens in a new tab) pays $1,318 a month to a single adult whose capacity for work is severely limited. Once you’ve been on it for 66 of the last 72 months, you move automatically to the Basic Income Program (opens in a new tab), which pays $1,707 to someone without a spouse ($1,336 plus a $371 adjustment). A few other long-term disability payments count toward those 66 months too, such as a CPP disability pension.

If a health problem limits your work but doesn’t qualify you for Social Solidarity, the regular Social Assistance Program adds $169 for a health constraint, which brings the benefit to $1,014.

British Columbia: disability assistance (PWD)

With the Persons with Disabilities designation, BC pays up to $1,483.50 a month (opens in a new tab): $983.50 for support and up to $500 for rent. A $52 transportation supplement comes on top. The rate for a single person hasn’t changed since 2023.

Saskatchewan: SAID

Since September 1, 2026, Saskatchewan Assured Income for Disability (SAID) (opens in a new tab) pays $1,289 a month in Regina, Saskatoon, Lloydminster, Estevan and their nearby communities, and $1,214 everywhere else. Those amounts don’t include utilities, which SAID pays separately at what they actually cost you.

Manitoba: Manitoba Supports

Manitoba Supports for Persons with Disabilities (opens in a new tab) pays $598.37 a month for living costs, plus a $48.80 supplement for people under 65 who get help with rent. Shelter support then pays up to 77% of Winnipeg’s median rent for a household your size, so there’s no single total. Manitoba raises these amounts with its inflation rate every July. People with a disability who are still on Manitoba’s regular Employment and Income Assistance (EIA) program get $1,277 (opens in a new tab).

Atlantic Canada

• New Brunswick pays $955 on Extended Benefits, for people its Medical Advisory Board certifies as blind, deaf or disabled.
• Nova Scotia pays $1,022 on its enhanced rate. The enhanced rate isn’t only for disability. It also covers people with a chronic condition, people 55 or older and a few other groups.
• Newfoundland and Labrador has no separate disability rate in Income Support. It does have the Newfoundland and Labrador Disability Benefit (opens in a new tab), up to $400 a month for adults 18 to 64 approved for the federal disability tax credit, paid in full when yearly income is under $29,402.
• Prince Edward Island bases support on each person’s costs, through Social Assistance and its AccessAbility Supports program.

The territories

Yukon’s Whitehorse rates (opens in a new tab) add up to $1,698 to $1,856 a month for one person: $335 for food, up to $711 for rent, $477 to $635 for fuel and utilities depending on the season, $103 for clothing and $72 for other costs. Those are the rates for November 1, 2025, to October 31, 2026. Yukon raises them with inflation every November 1, and its November 2026 table still hadn’t been posted on November 12, 2026, so the amounts in force now may be slightly higher. A person with a severe or long-term disability gets the $250 Yukon Supplementary Allowance on top.

The Northwest Territories pays rent and utilities (opens in a new tab) at what they actually cost, plus a basic amount that depends on the community. Nunavut pays rent straight to your local housing authority, plus a basic allowance.

What is ADAP, and is it replacing AISH?

ADAP, the Alberta Disability Assistance Program, started on July 2, 2026, and it runs alongside AISH rather than replacing it. Alberta now has two disability programs: AISH (Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped) for people whose disability keeps them from working, and ADAP for people whose severe disability limits work without ruling it out. ADAP pays $1,740 a month, $200 less than AISH, but lets you earn more before it drops.

Some people already on AISH stayed there automatically, according to Alberta’s fact sheet (opens in a new tab): people 60 or older, people in continuing care, people with a palliative or terminal condition, and people with a severe developmental disability. Those who moved from AISH to ADAP in July 2026 get a $200 transition benefit that keeps their payment at $1,940 until December 31, 2027, and they can apply to go back to AISH with a shorter application.

The earnings rule is ADAP’s advantage. Above $700, ADAP lowers your benefit gradually (opens in a new tab), and you can earn up to $45,240 a year at work and still get some of it. Health benefits continue whatever you earn.

Does the Canada Disability Benefit add to your cheque?

The federal Canada Disability Benefit pays up to $204.20 a month (opens in a new tab) from July 2026 to June 2027, and you need to be approved for the disability tax credit to get it. Most provinces let you keep it on top of assistance. Alberta takes it back.

• It doesn’t reduce your assistance in Ontario (Ontario Works and ODSP), BC (opens in a new tab), Saskatchewan, New Brunswick (opens in a new tab), Nova Scotia or Manitoba Supports (opens in a new tab).
• Quebec doesn’t count it as income, but it does count the money (in French) (opens in a new tab) toward your cash limit once it’s in your account.
• Alberta subtracts it dollar for dollar from AISH and ADAP, according to its 2026 guide (opens in a new tab). The only exception is someone on the modified living allowance, which is for people living in a facility.

How much money can you have in the bank on welfare or disability?

Welfare and disability programs limit the cash and savings you can have. Once you’re on assistance, the limits run from $1,000 to $100,000 for a single adult, except on Saskatchewan Income Support, which counts the savings you build up after you apply. Disability programs allow far more than welfare. Go over the limit and your benefit can drop or stop, so it’s worth knowing yours before you build up savings.

Most programs don’t count your home, one vehicle or a registered disability savings plan (RDSP), although Quebec’s Social Assistance Program leaves out a home only up to $272,241 of equity and a car only up to $10,000, and Nova Scotia leaves out a home only up to a certain value. Saskatchewan’s $2,000 is only for when you apply. After that, your worker counts the savings you build up when working out your benefit. Quebec also lets you set aside up to $5,000 for a specific project, such as a car or going back to school, in an individual development account.

Money that comes in can count too. A loan or a gift from family can be counted as income or push you over the limit, and each province has its own rules. Our page on loans and family money on assistance goes through them province by province.

When do the amounts go up?

Some programs rise with inflation on a fixed date, and others change only when the government decides to raise them. If your province is in the second group, the amount can stay the same for years.

• January 1: Quebec (2.05% in January 2026) and Nova Scotia.
• April: New Brunswick, which adjusts its rates every year.
• July: ODSP (1.9% in July 2026), Manitoba Supports and the Canada Disability Benefit.
• November 1: Yukon.
• No fixed date: BC hasn’t raised its rates for a single person since 2023. Saskatchewan’s welfare rates took effect on May 1, 2026, and SAID changed on September 1, 2026.

A small cushion fits under most of these limits

Even New Brunswick’s $1,000, the lowest fixed limit for someone already on assistance, leaves room for an emergency fund. Setting aside $10 a week gives you $520 after a year, which is enough to cover a broken phone or a high hydro bill without borrowing.

Lodavo gives you a reason to keep that $10 a week going. The app is free and connects to the savings or chequing account you already use, so you can see your savings grow each week. Every $25 in the account earns you a free ticket in a weekly cash draw, with prizes up to $10,000 and at least $100 going to a user every week. A prize is money like any other, though, so the FAQ below covers how some programs count it.

Lodavo is free on the Apple App Store (opens in a new tab) and the Google Play Store (opens in a new tab).

This page sums up each program’s published rates as of November 2026, and it isn’t legal advice. Your worker’s decision is the one that counts, so check with them about your own situation.

Terms and conditions apply. No purchase necessary (alternate method of entry available). Skill-testing question required. Open to legal residents of Canada who are the age of majority. Odds depend on the number of eligible entries received. Full rules and odds at our contest rules.