Financial Guide for Single Parents in Canada: Benefits, Credits, Support and Budgeting

Raising children on one income changes which benefits you get, which credits you can claim, and how much risk the household carries if that income stops. This guide runs through each, with links to the pages that hold the amounts and rules. It is part of our guide to life stages and life events.

Benefits for single parents

The Canada Child Benefit

The CCB is paid monthly for each child under 18, up to $8,157 a year for a child under 6 and $6,883 for a child aged 6 to 17 (July 2026 to June 2027). It shrinks once adjusted family net income passes $38,237. A single parent’s CCB is based on their own income, which is why it often rises after a separation. The full amounts and phase-out are on the CCB amounts page, and the CCB calculator estimates your payment.

Provincial child benefits

Most provinces add their own child benefit, paid with the CCB and based on the same income. Examples are the BC Family Benefit, the Alberta Child and Family Benefit, Quebec’s Family Allowance (which pays a supplement to single-parent families) and the Ontario Child Benefit.

Tax credits and deductions

• The eligible dependant amount lets a single parent claim a credit for one child as if the child were a spouse, worth as much as the spouse or common-law partner amount. One claim per household; who qualifies is covered in tax credits for caregivers and dependants.
• The child care expense deduction lets the parent who pays for daycare, before- and after-school care or day camps deduct it, up to annual limits per child by age. The limits and who claims are in the child care expense deduction guide.
• The Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (formerly the GST/HST credit) adds an amount for each child and is based on family income.

Child support

Child support follows the Federal Child Support Guidelines: a table amount based on the paying parent’s income, the number of children and the province, plus a share of special expenses such as child care. It isn’t taxable to the parent who receives it. The child support calculator gives an estimate and explains shared custody and section 7 expenses. If support isn’t paid, provincial enforcement programs (such as Ontario’s Family Responsibility Office) can collect it. Spousal support, where it applies, is explained in the spousal support calculator, and the rest of a separation in the divorce and separation financial checklist.

Child care subsidies

Every province now has fee reductions under its federal child care agreement, and most also run an income-tested subsidy that lowers the parent’s share further. What child care costs in each province, and how the reduced-fee programs work, is covered in how much daycare costs in Canada.

Housing help

Applications usually go through the local housing authority or social housing registry, with income documents, and waitlists can be long. Low-income families can find other programs in financial help for low-income Canadians.

Insurance on one income

With one earner, the household has no second income to fall back on. Life insurance would pay for the children’s care if you died (with a guardian named in your will), and disability insurance replaces part of your income if you can’t work. Ways to size the cover are in how much life insurance you need and the disability insurance guide.

An emergency fund

A single income carries more risk, so single parents often aim for a larger emergency fund than a two-income household; ways to size and build one are in how much emergency fund you need. If you lose your job, the steps (EI, severance, benefits) are in what to do when you’re laid off.

Saving for your children’s education

An RESP earns government grants on contributions, with extra grant money for lower-income families. The Canada Learning Bond adds $500 in the first year a child qualifies and $100 for each later year, up to $2,000 per child, with no contribution required; eligibility depends on family income and the number of children. How the grants work is in the CESG guide.

Legal documents

The steps to make a will are in how to make a will in Canada.

Community resources

Food banks, community and faith groups, single-parent support groups, shelters for people leaving abuse, and 211 (a free service that points you to local programs) all help single-parent families.

Related resources

• Cost of Raising a Child in Canada
• Budgeting 101 Canada
• RESP Calculator