Canadians with children more likely to rely on charities, non-profits: survey

Posted October 13, 2026 1:22 pm

1 min read

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Two out of five Canadians said they relied on the service of a charity or a non-profit in the last 12 months, an Ipsos survey conducted for the Royal Bank of Canada found on Tuesday.

However, the proportion of Canadians needing support is much higher among those who have children.

Canadians with children were far more likely (49 per cent) to seek support compared to those without kids (36 per cent), the RBC survey said.

Charities and non-profits working in the healthcare space found their services were most utilized (68 per cent) followed by food charities in second place (26 per cent) and education services (15 per cent) in third place.

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Canadians also sought help from charities and non-profits working in sectors such as housing (12 per cent), social programming (12 per cent), employment (nine per cent), professional/skill development (six per cent) and cultural or recreational programming (six per cent).

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Among those who used these services in the last 12 months, nearly four in five (79 per cent) said their use is “occasional” while more than one in five (21 per cent) said they “regularly” use help from charities or non-profit organizations.

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The kind of service Canadians use depends on their age, with younger Canadians relying more on education and employment services while older Canadians rely mor heavily on healthcare supports.

Gen Z had the highest use of charities among all generations, with nearly half (44 per cent) having used these services in the last 12 months.