Nunavut Income Assistance: who can apply and what is covered

What Income Assistance is

Nunavut's Income Assistance (IA) is a program of last resort run by the Department of Family Services. It helps Nunavut families and individuals meet basic needs such as food, shelter, utilities, fuel and municipal services. Anyone aged 18 or older who is in financial need and lives in Nunavut may apply.

Living costs, especially food, are very high, so the program is built around a basic allowance that depends on the household and on the community's zone. About 95% of recipients in Iqaluit live in public housing, where rent is low and fuel, water, sewage and garbage are not paid by the tenant, so the cash allowance goes mostly to food and daily needs.

How much you get

The basic allowance was raised by 34% on April 1, 2023, to help households keep up with food prices, and we found no later change (the benefits are not indexed). It depends on the zone of your community and on the number of people in the household. Monthly basic allowance for one and two people:

Zone 1: Arviat, Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet. Zone 2: Arctic Bay, Baker Lake, Cambridge Bay, Chesterfield Inlet, Gjoa Haven, Igloolik, Kugluktuk, Naujaat, Sanirajak, Whale Cove. Zone 3: Kimmirut, Kinngait, Pangnirtung, Sanikiluaq, Taloyoak. Zone 4: Clyde River, Coral Harbour, Grise Fiord, Kugaaruk, Pond Inlet, Qikiqtarjuaq, Resolute Bay. Source: Income Assistance Regulations, Schedule A (R-006-2023).

A family of four in Iqaluit receives $1,840 a month and a family of six in Taloyoak $2,731 (before the 2023 increase they received $1,373 and $2,038).

Other parts of the payment

• Shelter: for public housing, about $60 a month (a single person); only households that rent, own or pay room and board receive a shelter allowance.
• Utilities: electricity averaged about $28 a month for a single person and $43 for a couple with two children in public housing; discretionary help may be available for fuel.
• Incidental allowance: $250 a month for a person with a permanent disability or a temporary one lasting more than a year; $175 for a person aged 60 or over who is not in that group; $125 for a temporary disability of at least six months. (This is why $175 and $250 both appear in different sources.)
• Nunavut Child Benefit: $29 a month per child (maximum), plus the Canada Child Benefit and the GST/HST credit.
• Senior Citizen Supplementary Benefit ($300 a month) and the Senior Fuel Subsidy are separate programs for seniors: see the programs page.

For a single adult in Iqaluit public housing the total before any income is about $1,003 a month ($914 + $60 + $29 of utilities). These benefits are not indexed to inflation.

The whole picture in 2025

These totals include federal and territorial benefits. They are far below the poverty line for the North: for the single adult, the total income was only about 29% of it, which is why the territory studied a basic income pilot in 2024.

Who qualifies

• You must be 18 or older, live in Nunavut and be in financial need: your income after exemptions is lower than the maximum benefit for your household.
• The Income Assistance Regulations provide a shelter allowance only to households that rent, own or pay room and board.

Savings you may keep (liquid assets, 2025)

Working while on assistance

The first $200 of earned income is exempt for households without dependants ($400 with one or more dependants), plus half of the next $600: the maximum exemption is $500 a month without dependants and $700 with dependants.

Example: a single adult in Iqaluit public housing earns $500 net. Exempt: $200 + 50% × ($500 − $200) = $350. Counted: $150. Benefit: $1,003 − $150 = $853. Total with earnings: $1,353.

Source: Income Assistance Regulations, Schedule A (R-006-2023, in force April 1, 2023) and the codified regulation (R.R.N.W.T. 1990, c. S-16); the 2026 amendment R-009-2026 changed only the exemption of child benefits and the Canada Workers Benefit.

How to apply

Apply with the Income Assistance worker in your community (Department of Family Services). Bring identification, proof of income and of your housing situation. The worker also handles the Senior Fuel Subsidy application.