By Troy Gillard

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Alberta leads provinces in charitable donations

Mar 11, 2021 | 8:44 PM

Despite high unemployment and a sluggish economy in 2019, ATB Financial says Alberta still led all Canadian provinces when it comes to charitable donations claimed on tax returns.

The latest data from Statistics Canada show that the median charitable donation claimed by Alberta tax filers in 2019 was $500. If the territories are included, Nunavut tops the list at $630.

The median donation in Canada as a whole was $310. Donors in Quebec reported the lowest median donation at $130.

Alberta tax filers claimed a total of $1.6 billion in charitable donations in 2019, up 0.5 per cent from 2018. The Canadian total was $10.3 billion.

Despite a growing number of tax filers, the number of donors has decreased for five years in a row while total donations have been rising. Put another way, fewer donors are contributing more. This trend is also occurring in Canada as a whole.

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At the same time, the number of Canadians (provincial data were not reported) making large donations increased while the number making small donations decreased.