On a Scale of Compassion

"We like to think of ourselves here in Canada as a very generous population, but the data doesn't bear that out, particularly when we compare Canada to the United States. ...The extent of charitable giving fell in virtually every Canadian jurisdiction, from 2001 to 2011, when the most recent tax figures are available."
Charles Lamman, Fraser Institute study co-author

Out of the Fraser Institute's annual generosity index we learn that the generosity of Canadians to charitable giving has descended as a social obligation. Fewer people are making charitable donations, and those who do donate, are giving less. A perplexing state of affairs, since there is large unemployment in Canada, a growing number of part-time and service jobs, and a growing need for food banks to supplement peoples' nutritional intake.

On the other hand, there is also plenty of wealth, and a large demographic of middle-class and upper-middle-class people whose employment is secure and whose lifestyle is not compounded deleteriously by concerns over cash flow. The question is: why the niggardly giving? The question is: why are we not more aware and given to sharing with others what we in our privileged status so take for granted?

Percentage of Canadian tax filers donating to charity in 2011:

• Manitoba -- 25.9%
• Saskatchewan - 24.9%
• Ontario -- 24.1%
• Alberta -- 23.9%
• Nova Scotia -- 22.2%
• British Columbia -- 21.7%
• Quebec - 21.2%
• Newfoundland and Labrador -- 20.9%
• New Brunswick -- 20.7%
• Yukon -- 20.5%
• Northwest Territories -- 15.5%
• Nunavut -- 9.3%

The largest drop in provincial giving was in Prince Edward Island, Ontario and New Brunswick; fewer people there donated to charities since 2001, those people who do give, parting with less of their incomes than was the case a decade ago. Newfoundland and Labrador residents on the other hand increased the percentage of those claiming they gave donations to registered charities over the past decade.

The average Canadian donation in 2011 was $1,519 in total while the average American donation was triple that, at (US)$4,596. Part of that can be explained by the fact that Americans are more religious, attend church far more frequently and give regularly to their places of worship. Canadians look downright miserly next to their American counterparts.

Over a quarter of Americans -- 26% -- donate to charitable causes as contrasted with 22.9% of Canadians.

Americans part with an average of 1.33% of their income in charitable giving, representing over double what Canadians commit to, donating 0.64% of their aggregate incomes. And while Americans are also trending to fewer donations the generosity gap between the two countries' populations has continued to become wider.