More Canadians receiving the Canada Child Benefit than ever before

From: Employment and Social Development Canada

News release

Increased Canada Child Benefit payments are making a difference in the lives of middle class families

January 31, 2020              Markham, Ontario              Employment and Social Development Canada

Helping Canadian families provide the best start in life for their children is a top priority for the Government of Canada. That’s why the Government launched the Canada Child Benefit (CCB), a program that provides more money to nine out of ten Canadian families.

Today, at an event hosted by Little Miracles Childcare and Learning Centre, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, announced that under the CCB, parents now have more money to help with the high costs of raising their kids, including more than 1.3 million families in Ontario who received nearly $9 billion from the CCB in the 2018–19 benefit year.

A single mother in Markham with two children under the age of six and an income of $30,000 will receive an additional $286 tax-free this benefit year. That’s up to $13,278 in support every year to help pay for things such as healthy food, sports programs or music lessons.

The Government has committed to increasing the CCB by 15% for children under the age of one, beginning in summer 2020. This could give families up to $1,000 more each year.

Quotes

“All children deserve a fair chance at success. Our government continues to make families a priority by providing more money for your children – that is nine out of ten families. Increasing the CCB demonstrates our Government’s commitment to supporting those families who really need it most.”
– The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development

Quick facts

  • The CCB has had a positive impact on families’ incomes, playing a key role in reducing child poverty. There were 278,000 fewer children living in poverty in 2017 than there were in 2015.

  • Tax filing opens the door to benefits and credits, including the Canada Child Benefit. Over 29 million returns were filed for the 2018 tax-filing season.

  • Across Canada between July 2018 and June 2019, nearly 3.7 million families received close to $24 billion in annual Canada Child Benefit payments.

  • More families received monthly CCB payments in the first half of the current benefit year than in the same period of any previous CCB benefit years.

  • Examples of payments for the 2019-20 benefit year:

    • A single-parent family with one child under the age of 6 and earning $25,000 will receive an additional $143 for the current benefit year, bringing their new yearly total benefit to $6,639.
    • A two-parent family with two children aged 4 and 9 and earning $55,000 will receive an additional $354 for the current benefit year, bringing their new yearly total benefit to $9,017.
    • A two-parent family with two children under the age of 6 and earning $90,000 will receive an additional $263 for the current benefit year, bringing their new yearly total benefit to $7,090.

Associated links

Contacts

For media enquiries, please contact:

Valérie Glazer
Press Secretary
Office of the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Families, Children and Social Development
819-654-5546
valerie.glazer@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca

Media Relations Office
Employment and Social Development Canada
819-994-5559
media@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca
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