Statistics Canada data shows the small town of Steinbach, MB, population 18,000, was named the most generous city in Canada, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. The median donation in Canada was $380. The median donation in Steinbach was $2,230.Federal statisticians analyzed citizen’s tax returns to determine highest donations to charity per region. Though fewer Canadians in general claimed charitable tax credits on 2022 tax returns, data shows people in Manitoba were more generous that year than their Canadian counterparts in other provinces. “Manitoba remained Canada’s most charitable province,” said the report, Fewer Charitable Donors. The province’s donation rate was “just under one in five tax filers,” wrote analysts.No reason was given for Manitoba’s above-average charitable donations. Figures show Steinbach taxpayers earn no more than other Canadians but are more likely to identify as Christian with German or Dutch heritage. The other nine most generous communities in Canada based on median donations per year are: $1,820 in Winkler, MB $1,440 in Lacombe, AB $1,000 in Chilliwack, BC $1,000 in Abbotsford, BC $980 in Lethbridge, AB $930 in Portage la Prairie, MB $800 in Wetaskiwin, AB $740 in Brooks, AB $720 in Camrose, ABOverall, Manitoba donations were a median $590 in 2022, $580 in Alberta, $550 in BC, $540 in Saskatchewan, $520 in PEI, $480 in Ontario, $430 in Nova Scotia, $410 in New Brunswick, $390 in Newfoundland and Labradour and $150 in Quebec. The Income Tax Act allows a 33% tax credit on political contributions over $1,250 and only 29% for a comparable donation to a registered charity. In 2016, the Trudeau Liberals killed Bill C-239 An Act To Amend The Income Tax Act, which proposed to raise the charitable rate.“Life is about choice,” said Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne, then-parliamentary secretary for finance.“This bill would increase the costs associated with tax credits by about $1 billion a year,” said Champagne. “This would diminish the government’s ability to pay for important public programs that Canadians rely on. It would really diminish our ability to invest in the country’s future.”
