Residents of southeastern Manitoba continue to donate more money to charity than either the provincial or national average. That is according to recently released data from Statistics Canada.
Statistics Canada has now released figures from the 2023 tax year. The median donation per tax filer in Canada that year was $390 and for Manitoba, it was $600. Both those averages are up from 2022. The median donation amount represents the middle point: half of the donors gave more than the median and the other half gave less.
When you take a look at charitable donations per tax filer in southeastern Manitoba, most communities are trending much higher than the provincial and national numbers. Leading the way was Blumenort with a median donation of $3,200, which was down $580 from 2022. Next on that list was Kleefeld at $2,390, then Steinbach at $2,300, then Grunthal at $1,990, then Landmark at $1,980, then New Bothwell at $1,800, then Niverville at $1,180, then St. Pierre at $800, then Ste. Anne at $710, then La Broquerie at $650, then St. Malo at $580, and Lorette at $460.
Spokesperson Brennan Barnhart says when it comes to median donation amounts in both Manitoba and Canada, the numbers continue to climb year after year. He adds that for the 2023 tax year, 16.8 per cent of Canadian tax filers and 18.7 per cent of Manitoba tax filers claimed a donation.
"These are ratios that have been decreasing year over year since 2010," says Barnhart.
Manitoba continues to lead all provinces with the highest percentage of tax filers to claim a donation.
In 2023, Blumenort was the community in the southeast with the highest percentage of tax filers to claim a donation, at 25.5 per cent, followed by both Kleefeld and Landmark at 23.4 per cent. In Steinbach, 22.8 per cent of tax filers claimed a donation.
According to Barnhart, when you look at census metropolitan areas in Canada, Steinbach has the highest median donation and the third greatest proportion of tax filers reporting donations. He notes Winkler has the second highest median donation but the highest proportion of tax filers reporting donations.
Meanwhile, Barnhart says it is interesting to note that 2023 was the first year since 2010 with a year-over-year increase in the number of Canadians reporting charitable donations. There was also a $1.4 billion increase in the total aggregate amount of donations made that year, compared to 2022.