Fraser Institute
Canadian generosity hits lowest point in 20 years
From the Fraser Institute
The number of Canadians donating to charity—as a percentage of all tax filers—is at the lowest point in 20 years, finds a new study published by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank.
“The holiday season is a time to reflect on charitable giving, and the data shows Canadians are consistently less charitable every year, which means charities face greater challenges to secure resources to help those in need,” said Jake Fuss, director of Fiscal Studies at the Fraser Institute and co-author of Generosity in Canada: The 2024 Generosity Index.
The study finds that the percentage of Canadian tax filers donating to charity during the 2022 tax year—just 17.1 per cent—is the lowest proportion of Canadians donating since at least 2002.
Canadians’ generosity peaked at 25.4 per cent of tax-filersdonating in 2004, before declining in subsequent years.
Nationally, the total amount donated to charity by Canadian tax filers has also fallen from 0.61 per cent of income in 2002 to 0.50 per cent of income in 2022.
The study finds that Manitoba had the highest percentage of tax filers that donated to charity among the provinces (19.3 per cent) during the 2022 tax year while New Brunswick had the lowest (14.7 per cent).
Likewise, Manitoba also donated the highest percentage of its aggregate income to charity among the provinces (0.71 per cent) while Quebec donated the lowest (0.26 per cent).
“A smaller proportion of Canadians are donating to registered charities than what we saw in previous decades, and those who are donating are donating less,” said Fuss.
“This decline in generosity in Canada undoubtedly limits the ability of Canadian charities to improve the quality of life in their communities and beyond,” said Grady Munro, policy analyst and co-author.
NOTE: Table based on 2022 tax year, the most recent year of comparable data in Canada
Generosity in Canada: The 2024 Generosity Index
- Manitoba had the highest percentage of tax filers that donated to charity among the provinces (19.3%) during the 2022 tax year while New Brunswick had the lowest (14.7%).
- Manitoba also donated the highest percentage of its aggregate income to charity among the provinces (0.71%) while Quebec donated the lowest (0.26%).
- Nationally, the percentage of Canadian tax filers donating to charity has fallen over the last decade from 22.4% in 2012 to 17.1% in 2022.
- The percentage of aggregate income donated to charity by Canadian tax filers has also decreased from 0.55% in 2012 to 0.50% in 2022.
- This decline in generosity in Canada undoubtedly limits the ability of Canadian charities to improve the quality of life in their communities and beyond.
Jake Fuss
Grady Munro
From the Fraser Institute
Mark Carney, our next prime minister, has floated a climate policy plan that he says will be better for Canadians than the “divisive [read: widely hated] consumer carbon tax.”
But in reality, Carney’s plan is an exercise in misdirection. Under his plan, instead of paying the “consumer carbon tax” directly and receiving carbon rebates, Canadians will pay more via higher prices for products that flow from Canada’s “large industrial emitters” who Carney plans to saddle with higher carbon taxes, indirectly imposing the consumer carbon tax by passing those costs onto Canadians.
Carney also wants to shift government subsidies to consumer products of so-called “clean technologies.” As Carney told the National Observer, “We’re introducing changes so that if you decide to insulate your home, install a heat pump, or switch to a fuel-efficient car, those companies will pay you—not the taxpayer, not the government, but those companies.” What Carney does not mention is that much of the costs imposed on “those companies” will also be folded into the costs of the products consumers buy, but the cause of rising prices will be less distinguishable and attributable to government action.
Moreover, Carney says he wants to make Canada a “clean energy superpower” and “expand and modernize our energy infrastructure so that we are less dependent on foreign suppliers, and the United States as a customer.” But this too is absurd. Far from being in any way poised to become a “clean energy superpower,” Canada likely won’t meet its own projected electricity demand by 2050 under existing environmental regulations.
For example, to generate the electricity needed through 2050 solely with solar power, Canada would need to build 840 solar-power generation stations the size of Alberta’s Travers Solar Project, which would take about 1,700 construction-years to accomplish. If we went with wind power to meet future demand, Canada would need to build 574 wind-power installations the size of Quebec’s Seigneurie de Beaupre wind-power station, which would take about 1,150 construction years to accomplish. And if we relied solely on hydropower, we’d need to build 134 hydro-power facilities the size of the Site C power station in British Columbia, which would take 938 construction years to accomplish. Finally, if we relied solely on nuclear power, we’d need to construct 16 new nuclear plants the size of Ontario’s Bruce Nuclear Generating Station, taking “only” 112 construction years to accomplish.
Again, Mark Carney’s climate plan is an exercise in misdirection—a rhetorical sleight of hand to convince Canadians that he’ll lighten the burden on taxpayers and shift away from the Trudeau government’s overzealous climate policies of the past decade. But scratch the surface of the Carney plan and you’ll see climate policies that will hit Canadian consumers harder, with likely higher prices for goods and services. As a federal election looms, Canadians should demand from all candidates—no matter their political stripe—a detailed plan to rekindle Canada’s energy sector and truly lighten the load for Canadians and their families.
From the Fraser Institute
With a federal election looming, a group of Canadian automobile associations want Ottawa to pull the plug on the Trudeau plan to mandate that all new light-duty vehicles sold in Canada be emission-free by 2035. The Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association, the Global Automakers of Canada and the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association collectively made the request after the government recently ended its incentive program, which included rebates of up to $5,000 for electric vehicle (EV) purchases. Quebec’s EV subsidies are also drying up.
Brian Kingston, head of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturer’s Association, said the government’s mandate is now “increasingly unrealistic.” No doubt because Canadians remain reluctant to embrace EVs. According to recent report, while 48 per cent of Canadians will shop for a car this year (up from 42 per cent last year), only half (50 per cent) will consider EVs, down 2 per cent since last year.
Similarly, an Auto Trader survey finds that while almost half of non-EV owners are open to buying an EV for their next vehicle, interest in EVs declined for the second year in a row, from 68 per cent to 56 per cent. Things are somewhat rosier for plug-in hybrid vehicles, with purchase consideration for traditional gas-electric hybrids (HEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) increasing.
Another 2024 report from J.D. Power finds that “Just 11% of new-vehicle shoppers in Canada say they are ‘very likely’ to consider an electric vehicle (EV) for their next purchase, down 3 percentage points from 2023.” And a recent report from RBC said a softening economy and inflation helped lead to only 28 per cent of Canadians considering an EV purchase in 2024, down from 47 per cent in 2022.
It’s increasingly clear that the Trudeau government’s vaunted EV revolution, where all new cars sold in 2035 are to be EVs, is unlikely to come to pass—particularly without large subsidies that the Trudeau government ended and that Donald Trump is dismantling in the United States. Neither Canadians nor Americans are particularly interested in buying EVs that come with high price tags and inferior performance compared to traditional internal combustion vehicles.
The next federal government—whoever that may be—should heed the call of Canada’s vehicle trade associations and pull the plug on the EV sales mandates for 2035. And allow automakers to plan for making vehicles consumers want now, and will likely still want in 2035.
Kenneth P. Green
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