'Manitobans are warm with giving': Province among most generous in Canada

Donation data from taxpayers is showing one reason why Manitoba is the heart of the continent.

Manitoba is reclaiming the title of most people per capita who donate to charities - a title it’s held since 1997.

Statistics Canada has released data showing 17.7 per cent of 2021 Canadian taxpayers donated to charities. In Manitoba, it’s 19.7 per cent.

“Even though it's cold, it's good to know that Manitobans are warm with giving,” Winnipegger Linda Wesley said in response to the new data.

The median donation amount in Canada was $360 in 2021. Manitoba is above that - tied with Alberta at $550. Nunavut topped the list at a median donation amount of $880.

Darryl Loewen- the executive director of the Mennonite Central Committee in Manitoba - said they've seen donations increase by 25 per cent over the past five years.

“A response that is compassionate and generous. Folks identify with people in need in Manitoba,” Loewen said.

He says international events- including the war in Ukraine - often drives that generosity.

Residents in two Manitoban cities have more than quintupled the median donation amount of other Canadians.

Steinbach has held the top title since Statistics Canada began tracking it in 2012. This year its median donations sit at $2,270. Winkler came in second in Canada with $1,820.

Statistics Canada says donations are often given in areas with higher incomes. In cases like Manitoba’s, where the median income is lower than the national average, it says it’s societal.