OTTAWA – Parents receiving the federal Child Tax benefit will see an increase in the size of the payment this month.
The Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Karina Gould, highlighted that the maximum annual Canada Child Benefit will increase to help families cope with the rising cost of living. For the 2022–23 benefit year, families most in need can receive up to $6,997 per child under the age of six and $5,903 per child aged six through 17.
The Canada Child Benefit was introduced in 2016 and is a key component of the Government of Canada’s Affordability Plan.
Since its inception, the Minister says that the benefit has played a key role in reducing the number of children living in poverty and continues to be central to the Government of Canada’s efforts to reduce poverty by 50% by 2030, relative to 2015 levels.
The Canada Child Benefit has been indexed since 2018. The amount Canadians receive is based on the adjusted family net income reported on their tax return from the previous year.
Since 2015, the Government of Canada has delivered real improvements to make life more affordable coast to coast to coast, including making a historic investment of up to $27 billion over five years to build a Canada-wide early learning and child care system in collaboration with provincial, territorial and Indigenous partners. This investment allows governments to work together toward achieving an average parent fee of $10-a-day by March 2026 for licensed child care spaces, starting with a 50% fee reduction on average for licensed early learning and child care spaces by the end of 2022.
“Canadian families are worried about the rising costs associated with raising kids, but they are not in this alone. Through our new Affordability Plan, the continued indexation of the Canada Child Benefit, and our Canada-wide early learning and child care system, we will continue to prioritize the needs of children and families, and help put money back in the pockets of Canadians when they need it the most,” said Minister Karina Gould.
- The Government of Canada is committed to ensuring that all Canadian families have a fair chance at success by providing parents with more money to help with the high costs of raising their kids.
- July 2022 marks the 6th anniversary of the Canada Child Benefit, which was introduced in 2016. The Government indexed the Canada Child Benefit for the first time in July 2018 to ensure the benefit keeps pace with inflation.
- Eligible families can now receive up to up to $5,903 per child aged six through 17 and up to $6,997 per child under the age of six for the July 2022 to June 2023 benefit year.
- The Canada Child Benefit is tax-free, based on income and provides increased support for low- to middle-income families with children.
- Overall, there were 450,000 fewer children living in poverty in 2019, and 782,000 fewer children living in poverty in 2020 compared to 2015.
- Although the decrease in children’s poverty between 2019 and 2020 is largely attributed to temporary Covid-19 emergency benefits (including additional payments made through the CCB), the poverty rate for children has been decreasing since 2015.
