1. Learning to Live Toget her
CHarItable GIvInG
wHy Is It ImPortant to learnInG In
wHat Is It?
Canada?
The proportion of Canadian house-
Civic awareness and community involvement are impor-
holds that reported making a donation
tant elements of the Learning to Live Together pillar.
to charitable organizations, according
Charitable giving is a key indicator of civic involvement,
to Statistics Canada’s Survey of
because it demonstrates that individuals are interested in
Household Spending.
and concerned with the needs of others.
Giving to charity has immediate benefits for individual
Canadians and for the country as a whole, through the
strengthening of organizations that are an essential part of
total CHarItable donatIons
our social fabric.
rIse, even as tHe number
These charitable organizations offer volunteers a wealth
oF CanadIans donatInG to
of informal and non-formal learning opportunities that they
CHarItIes Falls
may not have access to in other aspects of their lives.
Between 1997 and 2005, the proportion of
Charitable organizations also provide the infrastructure for
Canadians reporting charitable donations
decreased from 73% to 68%. This annual productive social relationships and help generate new ideas
and methods of solving problems. In many concrete ways,
number saw a recent jump in 2004 and
2005, which may or may not be related to charitable donations provide aid to Canadians for a variety of
health and social problems, as well as providing opportunities
the December 2004 tsunami in Indonesia
to continue to learn and participate as active citizens.
and the destruction caused in the southern
U.S. by Hurricane Katrina during the
summer of 2005.
CHart 1: ProPortIon oF CanadIan HouseHolds rePortInG ContrIbutIons
to CHarIty, 1997–2005
75%
72.8%
70.6%
70%
68.4% 68.4% 68.1%
67.3% 67.4%
66.6% 66%
65%
60%
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Source: Statistics Canada, Survey of Household Spending
Learning to Know, to Do, to Live Toget her, to Be

2. 2007
CLI
Despite the eight-year drop in the total number of CanadIans GIve to suPPort tHose In
Canadians donating to charity, the total amount of dona- need, or to suPPort a Cause
tions from Canadians actually increased to nearly $6.5 According to the CSGVP, most Canadians cite
billion in 2005, from just under $6 billion in 1997.1 This “compassion towards people in need” as the chief
is believed to be the result of population growth and an reason for deciding to give to charity. In 2004, nearly
increase in the number of larger individual donations. four of every five donors made contributions within the
This trend is consistent with research undertaken community in which they lived. Canadians were far less
using the Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and likely to agree that they gave to charities for religious
Participating (CSGVP) from Statistics Canada, which reasons or because they would receive a credit on
shows that the country can be divided into two groups: their income tax. These findings point to social justice,
a small core of citizens who are heavily involved in civic community ties and concern for others as motives
activities, and the majority of Canadians who are not.2 behind charitable giving in Canada.
table 1: CHarItable donatIons In table 2: reasons For CHarItable
Canada, 2005 GIvInG In Canada, 2004
Percentage Percentage
of Canadian Reason for giving of respondents
Median
Province/territory households who agreed
donation
making
Feel compassion towards people
89%
donations
in need
Newfoundland and
83.1% $240 Help a cause in which you
Labrador 86%
personally believe
Prince Edward Island 79.4% $275
Make a contribution to the
79%
Saskatchewan 77.6% $250 community
New Brunswick 74.7% $220 Personally affected by the cause
63%
the organization supports
Ontario 73.6% $300
Fulfill religious obligation or beliefs 32%
Nova Scotia 72.5% $220
Government will give you a credit
Manitoba 72.5% $300 20%
on your income tax
Canada 68.1% $250
Source: Statistics Canada, Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering
Alberta 71.8% $300
and Participating, 2004
Yukon 66.5% $200
British Columbia 66.1% $300
Quebec 56% $130
Northwest Territories 53.8% $200
Nunavut 25% $220
Source: Statistics Canada, Survey of Household Spending, 2005
www.ccl-cca.ca/cli, May 2007
________________________
1 In constant 2005 dollars.
2 Reed, Paul B. and L. Kevin Selbee. The Civic Core in Canada: Disproportionality in Charitable Giving, Volunteering,
and Civic Participation (Ottawa: Statistics Canada’s Non-profit Sector Knowledge Base Project, 2002).
Full ClI results, data and doCumentatIon avaIlable at www.CCl-CCa.Ca/ClI