Aggregate Federal Transfers Explorer

About this explorer and how to use it

This tool shows federal transfers to Canada's ten provincial governments from Confederation in to : in dollars, in dollars per person, and as a share of the economy. It opens on transfers per person, in dollars, for all provinces combined and for Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia.

To use it, pick provinces and units, then choose how to measure them: as published, as an annual per cent change, as an index, or relative to all provinces. Over time tracks transfers across the years; Across provinces ranks the provinces in a single year, or by their change between two years; Transfers and the economy plots what each province receives against the size of its economy. Every chart and table can be downloaded, as can the full database. Sources and definitions are in the Notes; for the long history, see Tombe (2018), “‘Final and Unalterable’—But Up for Negotiation: Federal-Provincial Transfers in Canada”.

Provinces

Units

Measure

Base year (= 100)

Years

Over time

From

Across provinces and transfers and the economy

Year

Compare with

Show change between the two years Logarithmic scaleEqual vertical distances show equal per cent changes, which makes a century and a half of growth easier to read. Over time only. Mark the change in sourceA dashed line marks where the historical series ends and Statistics Canada's begins. Definitions differ a little on either side.

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What the data are

This database tracks the total value of transfers from the federal government to each provincial government, every year from to . It covers transfers of all kinds, from the statutory subsidies and debt allowances set at Confederation to today's Canada Health Transfer, Canada Social Transfer and Equalization, and smaller targeted programs. It does not include transfers to the territories, to local governments or directly to individuals and businesses.

Figures from 1867 to 2006 are from Tombe (2018), which assembled them from historical records; from 2007 on, they are from Statistics Canada. Each province enters the data when it joins Confederation: Manitoba in 1870, British Columbia in 1871, Prince Edward Island in 1873, Alberta and Saskatchewan in 1905, and Newfoundland and Labrador in 1949. Population, GDP and prices come from the Finances of the Nation macroeconomic database.

For a program-by-program breakdown of recent transfers, see the Finances of the Nation major federal transfers data.

Units

All provinces is the sum of the ten provinces (or of those in Confederation at the time). Its per-person values divide that total by the provinces' combined population, which is the same as a population-weighted average of the provinces. Its share of provincial GDP is total transfers as a share of Canada's GDP, so it matches its share of Canada's GDP.

Measures

Level (as published): the value in the database, in the units chosen.
Annual per cent change: the change from the previous year.
Index: each series divided by its value in a base year, times 100. By default the base is the first year shown in which every selected series has data; choose a fixed base year in the sidebar.
Per cent of all provinces: each province's value divided by the all-province value, times 100. For totals (dollars, and shares of Canada's GDP) it is the province's share of all transfers. For per-person values and shares of provincial GDP it is the province's level relative to all provinces (all provinces = 100).
Change between two years: for dollar amounts, compound average annual growth, ((end ÷ start)^1/years − 1) × 100; for shares of GDP, the difference in percentage points.
Logarithmic scale: equal vertical distances show equal proportional changes, so a series growing at a steady rate is a straight line.

Transfers and the economy

This view compares what each province receives with the size of its economy per person. Provincial GDP per person isn't a column in the database, but it follows from two that are: transfers per person divided by transfers as a share of provincial GDP. It is therefore the same nominal GDP and population used throughout, from the FON macroeconomic database. For all provinces combined, it is Canada's GDP divided by the population of the ten provinces. Provincial GDP begins in 1926 (1949 for Newfoundland and Labrador), so this view starts then.

Most federal transfers are either equal per person (the Canada Health Transfer and Canada Social Transfer) or aimed at provinces with less ability to raise revenue (Equalization), so provinces with lower GDP per person tend to receive more per person. Treat GDP as a rough guide to fiscal capacity: Equalization measures it differently.

Sources

Population, nominal GDP and the consumer price index (used to deflate real values, = 100): Finances of the Nation macroeconomic database, which draws on Statistics Canada and historical sources.

Things to keep in mind

The source changes in . The historical series and Statistics Canada's economic accounts don't define transfers in exactly the same way, so part of any shift between and may reflect the change in source. Turn on Mark the change in source to see where it falls.
Real dollars use the national consumer price index, so they measure what transfers would buy in consumer goods at prices. They don't adjust for differences in prices across provinces, or for the cost of the services provinces provide.
One-time payments show up as spikes, such as the 2005 offshore accord payments to Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia, and pandemic support in 2020. Annual per cent changes around such years are large.
Early years are small and lumpy. Before the 1930s transfers were mostly fixed statutory subsidies, so per cent changes and indexes based on those years can look extreme.

Coverage

How to cite

Questions or comments? Please email Trevor Tombe (University of Calgary) at .

Licence

This tool and its database are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence (CC BY 4.0). You may share and adapt them for any purpose, including commercially, as long as you give appropriate credit (see How to cite), link to the licence and say if you made changes. The underlying source data remain under their own terms: Statistics Canada data under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.