By Canadian Press

Canada Child Benefits gets mini bump in payments with pandemic playing a role

Jul 20, 2021 | 8:21 AM

OTTAWA — Canadian families are seeing the lowest annual increase in federal child benefits since payments were tied to inflation as the pandemic has weighed on price growth over the last year.

The government announced today that Canada Child Benefit payments will max out this year at $6,833 for children five and under, and $5,765 for children six to 17.

The total value of payments will only rise by one per cent compared to the previous year, in line with the country’s headline inflation reading, or roughly $5 more per month, per child.

Social Development Minister Ahmed Hussen says the benefit itself has made an impact on poverty rates and families facing a financial crunch.

He is also touting extra child benefit payments the government is sending to parents that top out at $1,200 this year. 

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The extra payments should push the overall price tag of the benefit to over $27 billion this fiscal year before falling next year without the one-time, COVID-19 payments pushing up over the overall tab.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 20, 2021.

The Canadian Press