Catholic charities in Canada enter the new year going against the grain, as many seemingly defy a new report that highlights the steepest decline in charitable giving since 2006. 

The Fraser Institute report “Generosity in Canada: The 2025 Generosity Index,” released in December, shows that Canadian charitable giving has fallen to its lowest level in two decades, with only 16.8 per cent of Canadian tax filers reporting having donated to charity in 2023. 

The report also denotes that the share of income Canadians donate has dropped, with tax filers giving 0.52 per cent of their aggregate income in 2023 nationally, down slightly from 0.55 per cent in 2013 and significantly below that of the early 2000s, when donations often exceeded 0.7 per cent of aggregate income. 

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While the findings conclude that the reported decline “undoubtedly limits” the ability of charities to improve the quality of life in their communities, the result may not be as applicable to Catholic charities. Agnes Thomas, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Toronto, says that while the national numbers seem troubling, they are closer to showing a reflection of the changing landscape of charitable giving and donor needs than an overall decline in Canadian generosity. 

“In my view, (the Fraser report) is not a sign that generosity in Canada is declining, but rather evidence of a shift that has been underway for some time. Canadians continue to care deeply about the common good, but how they choose to contribute is evolving, with more people looking beyond writing a cheque to offer their time, advocacy and community involvement,” Thomas said. 

“At the same time, changing demographics and expectations mean donors want clearer, more accessible information about the impact of their contributions. These shifts are also shaped by ongoing economic pressure and market volatility, which influence how people think about giving, even when their commitment to generosity remains strong.” 

Similarly, ShareLife’s Arthur Peters told The Catholic Register Toronto Catholics have rallied against such trends after another year of impressive giving to the charitable fundraising arm of the Archdiocese of Toronto. 

“We are very aware that families are under financial pressure and that this affects charitable giving, and we take that context seriously. That said, what we are seeing at ShareLife does not necessarily reflect a broad pullback in engagement. In particular, food security has been one of the strongest areas of response this year, which is why we increased our allocation for food security grants to $800,000 in partnership with Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Toronto and two generous anonymous donors,” Peters said. 

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The dissonance from reality to report is not because needs aren’t present as they are in so many other places across Canada, it’s that local Catholics continue to show up, he said. 

“The Catholic community responds because hunger is visible in their parishes and neighbourhoods, and they understand that giving through ShareLife is a way of responding to the needs of our brothers and sisters and to the many challenges faced across the community through our agencies.” 

ShareLife is “cautiously optimistic” that while needs are significant and growing, so too is the community’s willingness to respond when the impact is clear and close to home.

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Vancouver is seeing similar patterns on Canada’s west coast. In 2024, its “The Door is Open” meal and shelter program saw a slight decrease in donations, $543,950 as opposed to 2023’s $593,749. In contrast, the archdiocese’s 2024/2025 Annual Report showed that the Men’s Shelter program donations totalled $711,101 at the end of March, more than double the $312,497 in 2024. 

Matthew Furtado, the director of communications for the Archdiocese of Vancouver, echoes Peters, saying while community issues like mental health and addiction remain visible, especially in the Downtown Eastside, support hasn’t wavered in any measurable way. 

“ I think in general that people have been really generous and have met the needs that they have been seeing. People of faith especially see that there's a great need out there, and it’s a need that is actually getting worse as our economic times get worse. They have gone the other way, having been even more generous because of this, and that’s been apparent in what we've been seeing,” he said. 

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Even Catholics throughout the Prairie provinces seem to be combatting Fraser’s findings, with the Diocese of Saskatoon Catholic Foundation’s 2025 Annual Report showing donations significantly improved to $5,606,040 in 2025 from $2,238,252 in 2024. 

Catholic Social Services Alberta in Edmonton also showed slight improvements in private grants and donations, from $2,881,252 in 2023/2024 to $2,914,365 in 2024/2025, according to annual reports.