THUNDER BAY – LIVING – Starting on July 20, 2018, the Canada Child Benefit will be raised to keep up with the cost of living. This change comes two years ahead of schedule, as was announced in the 2018 Federal Budget, and will give Canadian parents even more money each month to help them provide for their children.
“This raise in CCB payments is great news for families in Thunder Bay-Rainy River! I am pleased that this benefit is being increased to keep up with the cost of living and will now be able to help families in our community, and across the country, even more”, says Don Rusnak, Member of Parliament for Thunder Bay-Rainy River.
Indexing the CCB sooner will ensure that it will continue to play a vital role in supporting Canadian families and reducing child poverty. This means that the CCB, for the 2018-19 benefit year, will now have a maximum annual benefit of $6,496 per child under age 6 and $5,481 per child age 6 through 17. As an example, for a single parent with $35,000 of income with two children, the accelerated indexation of the CCB will contribute $560 towards the costs of raising his or her children, for the 2019-20 benefit year. For this parent, this means up to $12,992 in support every year.
Thanks to the CCB, 9 out of 10 Canadian families have more money. These families have received almost $2,300 more on average per year than under the programs the CCB replaced. Since July 2016, the CCB has given over $23 billion dollars each year to Canadian families to help pay for things like sports programs, music lessons and back-to-school clothes. And even more importantly, because of the CCB, more than half a million people—including 300,000 children—are being lifted out of poverty.
