JOURNAL ARTICLE

Tax-Reported Charitable Giving in Canada, 1987–2018.

  • Published In: Canadian Public Policy, 2025, v. 51, n. 3. P. 284 1 of 3

  • Database: Academic Search Ultimate 2 of 3

  • Authored By: Hickey, Ross; Payne, A. Abigail; Smith, Justin 3 of 3

Abstract

The article analyzes trends in charitable giving in Canada from the late 1980s to 2018 using the Longitudinal Administrative Databank (LAD), a large tax filer dataset. It finds that while the real average donation increased through the 1990s and plateaued after the mid-2000s, the proportion of tax filers who donate has steadily declined, leading to a concentration of giving among fewer donors, particularly those in the top 1 percent and 0.1 percent of the income distribution. Charitable giving tends to increase rapidly in early adulthood, peaking around age 50, and donors generally give frequently rather than intermittently. Regional differences are notable, with Quebec consistently showing lower donation rates, partly attributed to lower religiosity.

Additional Information

  • Source:Canadian Public Policy. 2025/09, Vol. 51, Issue 3, p284
  • Document Type:Article
  • Subject Area:Economics
  • Publication Date:2025
  • ISSN:0317-0861
  • DOI:10.3138/cpp.2024-050
  • Accession Number:188287112
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