A new study by the Fraser Institute suggests Canadians are downright miserly compared to their American counterparts when it comes to giving to charity.
The study, Generosity in Canada and the United States: The 2019 Generosity Index, said fewer Canadians donate and they donate far less.
"The holiday season is a time to reflect on giving, and with Canadians being less generous every year, charities face greater challenges to secure resources to help those in need," said the study's co-author, Jake Fuss, who is also a senior policy analyst with the Fraser Institute.
The study looked at how much people in 64 states, provinces and territories in the two countries claimed in charitable donations on their 2017 tax returns. It ranked each jurisdiction according to what percentage of taxpayers claimed charitable contributions, what percentage of their income they donated, and how much.
Salvation Army Kettle. (Photo by Matt Weverink)
Maryland had the highest percentage of donors at 38.7 per cent of taxpayers. Residents in Utah donated the highest rate of their income at 31.1 per cent, and those in Wisconsin gave the most at $15,802.
In Canada, the highest percentage of donors lived in Manitoba. In that province, 23.4 per cent of taxpayers claimed charitable donations on their tax return. Those residents donated $2,109 on average. Manitoba ranked 44th out of all 64 jurisdictions studied, the highest of any Canadian province.
British Columbia taxpayers donated the most, on average, at $2,570 in 2017.
Only 20.9, or one in five, taxpayers in Ontario claimed donations, and the average total donated was $1,934. As a result, the province ranked 50 out of 64.
Nunavut ranked 64th with only 7.2 per cent of donors.
The study showed only one in five Canadians claimed monetary support to a charity organization compared with almost one in four Americans.
Canadians, on average, also donated just 0.54 per cent of their income, the lowest amount since at least 2000. Generosity peaked in 2006 at 0.78 per cent. By comparison, Americans donated 1.52 per cent of their income to registered charities, nearly three times the amount Canadians claimed.
The average donation in Canada totalled $1,800. In the U.S., it was $6,751.
The Fraser Institute is an independent Canadian public policy research and educational organization with ties to a global network of think-tanks in 87 countries.
