Provincial Child Benefits: Alberta, BC, Ontario, Quebec and More

Most provinces and territories pay families a child benefit on top of the federal Canada Child Benefit (CCB). For ten of them, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) runs the program, and you don’t apply to the province: the CRA uses your CCB application to decide whether you qualify. Quebec’s Family Allowance is paid by Retraite Québec, which you deal with directly. The CRA runs no benefit program for Manitoba, which pays its own Manitoba Child Benefit. Saskatchewan isn’t on the CRA’s list of these programs: what the CRA runs there is a low-income tax credit tied to the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit. Each sets its own amounts, income limits and benefit year.

On this page: By province · Alberta · BC · Ontario · Quebec · Other provinces and territories · How to get them

Which provinces and territories pay a child benefit, and how much?

Amounts are shown the way each program states them, a month or a year, per child or per family. Unless noted, the income test uses adjusted family net income: your net income plus your spouse’s or common-law partner’s, minus any universal child care benefit (UCCB) and registered disability savings plan (RDSP) income received, plus any of those amounts repaid.

The CRA’s child and family benefits calculator estimates the CRA-run programs with the CCB.

How does the Alberta Child and Family Benefit work?

The Alberta Child and Family Benefit (ACFB) has two parts. The base component goes to lower-income families with children whether or not anyone in the family works. The working component is added when family employment income is over $2,760, and it grows by 15% of each dollar earned above that until it reaches the maximum.

ACFB amounts, July 2026 to June 2027

The base component is reduced once adjusted family net income passes $28,116, and families between that and $47,115 may get part of it. The working component is reduced once adjusted family net income passes $47,115.

The CRA pays the ACFB in August, November, February and May, separately from the monthly CCB. The 2026 dates are February 27, May 27, August 27 and November 27 (other benefit payment dates). If you qualify for less than $10 in a quarter, payments may be combined and paid less often. ACFB payments are not taxable.

There is nothing extra to apply for: Alberta considers you when you file your tax return and qualify for the CCB. Families on Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH), Income Support or the Alberta child care subsidy can still get the ACFB, and it doesn’t change those benefits. A family that moves to Alberta becomes eligible the month after it becomes resident, and a family that leaves may have to pay back amounts for months it no longer lived there.

The Alberta Child Health Benefit is a separate program that covers health costs for children in low-income households.

How much is the BC Family Benefit?

The BC Family Benefit (BCFB) is a tax-free monthly payment for families with children under 18. The CRA pays it together with the CCB, as one deposit each month.

BC Family Benefit amounts, July 2026 to June 2027

The amounts for July 2026 to June 2027 use adjusted family net income for the 2025 tax year, and a family under $30,176 gets the maximum. Between $30,176 and $96,562, the benefit drops by 4% of income above $30,176, but not below the minimum in the table. From $96,562, what’s left drops by 4% of income above that amount until it reaches zero.

Low-income single parents get a supplement of up to $500 a year per family, for each month in which, at the start of the month, they are receiving the BCFB and don’t live with a spouse or common-law partner. Starting in July 2027, B.C. will add a children and youth disability supplement to the BCFB, a tax-free amount for families with a child under 18 who has a severe and prolonged impairment in physical or mental functions.

B.C. Training and Education Savings Grant: British Columbia pays a one-time $1,200 grant (BCTESG) into a child's RESP. It can be applied for from the child's 6th birthday until the day before they turn 9, through an RESP provider that offers the grant, and the child and the parent or guardian must live in B.C. when applying and have valid social insurance numbers. More in provincial RESP grants.

Looking for help with child care costs in B.C.? That’s a different program: the Affordable Child Care Benefit.

What is the Ontario Child Benefit?

The Ontario Child Benefit (OCB) is a tax-free payment to help low- and moderate-income families with the cost of their children. It pays up to $1,760 a year per child. For July 2026 to June 2027, that is up to $146.66 a month for each child under 18, paid with the CCB in one monthly payment, and a family with adjusted family net income above $26,865 may get part of it.

You don’t apply for it separately: applying for the CCB gets you assessed for the OCB. You have to file a tax return every year to qualify, even with no income to report.

The Ontario Child Benefit isn’t the Ontario Trillium Benefit, a separate tax credit payment.

How much is Quebec’s Family Allowance?

Quebec’s Family Allowance helps eligible families with a dependent child under 18 who lives with them. The CRA doesn’t administer it: you apply to Retraite Québec, which pays it on its own schedule, not with the CCB.

Family Allowance amounts per child, 2026

The one-parent amounts include a single-parent supplement of $1,077 at the maximum and $430 at the minimum. Family income is the previous year’s, as reported on your Quebec return, and amounts are adjusted for the cost of living each January. Between the two income levels the amount is somewhere between the maximum and the minimum; Retraite Québec’s CalculAide tool estimates it for your family.

Retraite Québec also pays supplements:

• School supplies: $127 a year for each eligible child, paid once a year in July for the coming school year.
• Handicapped children: $2,892 a year per child, and for a child who needs exceptional care, $14,580 (tier 1) or $9,696 (tier 2).

The allowance, the school supplies supplement and the Supplement for Handicapped Children are not taxable. Retraite Québec pays four times a year, in January, April, July and October; you can ask for monthly payments instead, made on the first working day of each month. When a child lives with each parent between 40% and 60% of the time each month, both parents receive the allowance.

For a child born in Quebec, you don’t need to apply: the Registrar of Civil Status notifies Retraite Québec. In other cases, such as moving to Quebec, you apply to Retraite Québec yourself. Payments for past months go back at most 11 months from the date Retraite Québec receives your application.

What do the other provinces and territories pay?

The CRA pays each of these with the CCB in one monthly payment, except Manitoba’s.

New Brunswick

The New Brunswick child tax benefit is a tax-free monthly payment for families with children under 18, and working families can also get the New Brunswick working income supplement. The basic benefit is $20.83 a month per child, reduced when adjusted family net income is over $20,000. The supplement adds up to $20.83 a month per family, and part of it is paid when income is $20,921 to $25,921. A school supplement for low-income families is paid once a year in July.

Newfoundland and Labrador

For July 2026 to June 2027, the Newfoundland and Labrador child benefit pays $157.33 a month for the first child, $166.83 for the second, $179.16 for the third and $192.50 for each additional child; above $20,397 of adjusted family net income, a family may get part of it. The Early childhood nutrition supplement can add $150 a month for each child under five, depending on income.

Nova Scotia

For July 2026 to June 2027, the Nova Scotia child benefit is $127.08 a month for each child under 18 in your care, and families with adjusted family net income between $26,000 and $34,000 may get part of it.

Prince Edward Island

For July 2026 to June 2027, the Prince Edward Island child benefit is $34.16 a month per child under 18 when adjusted family net income is under $45,000, $24.16 between $45,000 and $80,000, and nothing above $80,000.

Manitoba

The Manitoba Child Benefit is run by the province, not the CRA, and pays monthly to lower-income families with dependent children. It pays up to $420 a year for each child. For one child, the full amount goes to families with annual income of $15,000 or less, and part of it at $15,001 to $20,435. You need to live in Manitoba, have children under 18 in your care and receive the CCB for them, and you can’t be on Employment and Income Assistance unless you get only its health benefits. You apply by printing the application from the province’s Manitoba Child Benefit page and mailing it in.

Yukon

The Yukon child benefit pays $80.50 a month per child under 18, and families with adjusted family net income above $35,000 may get part of it.

Northwest Territories

The Northwest Territories child benefit is a non-taxable monthly amount per family, set by the number of children and their ages:

Above $30,000 of adjusted family net income a family may get part of it, and it ends at $80,000.

Nunavut

The Nunavut child benefit pays $58.00 a month per child under 18, and families with adjusted family net income above $22,065 may get part of it.

How do you get a provincial child benefit?

For the ten programs the CRA runs, you apply once, for the CCB, and the CRA uses that application to check whether you qualify for your province’s or territory’s benefit (how to apply for the CCB). The amount is worked out from the tax returns you and your spouse or common-law partner file, so both of you need to file. If your CCB goes to your bank account by direct deposit, the provincial or territorial payment goes to the same account.

Because the CRA decides these programs from your CCB application, the CCB’s eligibility rules are the starting point. You can get the CCB if you live with a child under 18, are the person mainly responsible for the child's care and upbringing, are a resident of Canada for tax purposes, and you or your spouse or common-law partner has an accepted status in Canada (citizen, permanent resident, protected person, qualifying temporary resident or a person registered or entitled to be registered under the Indian Act). See who is eligible for the CCB.

Shared custody: A child who lives with you 40% to 60% of the time puts you in shared custody for the CCB: each parent then gets 50% of the amount they would get with full custody, worked out on that parent's own adjusted family net income. Each parent likewise gets half of the provincial or territorial payment the CRA pays. More in CCB shared custody.

When you move, tell the CRA your new address right away, or your payments may stop. Quebec’s Family Allowance and the Manitoba Child Benefit are the exceptions: you deal with Retraite Québec or the Province of Manitoba directly.

If your child has a severe and prolonged impairment, the federal Child Disability Benefit is a tax-free monthly payment on top of the CCB.