Yukon Social Assistance: what it covers and how to apply

What Social Assistance is

Yukon Social Assistance (SA) is the territory's income program of last resort for adults and families who have exhausted other means. It has three layers, which is why the total is more than a single number:

1. Basic maintenance: a basic allowance (food, clothing, personal and household items) and a shelter allowance (rent and utilities, with fuel and utilities paid by seasonal allowance). Both depend on the size and makeup of the household and on where in the territory you live.
2. Supplementary needs: fixed extras for transportation, telephone, laundry, winter clothing and a Christmas allowance, paid after six consecutive months on SA (immediately for people excluded from work and for children).
3. Discretionary aid: money at the director's discretion for unexpected or emergency needs — prescriptions, medical travel, dental and optical care, security deposits, moving, storage, employment or education costs — even for some people not on assistance, to prevent an immediate health or safety risk.

Basic rates are indexed to inflation with the Whitehorse consumer price index: they rise automatically every November 1 (a 2.8% increase took effect in November 2025).

How much you get

Basic maintenance for the period November 1, 2025 to October 31, 2026 (indexed every November 1 with the Whitehorse CPI). Monthly food allowance by household size and place:

*Zone 2: Carcross, Carmacks, Teslin, Haines Junction, Dawson City, Pelly Crossing, Mayo, Watson Lake, Ross River and Faro.

• Fuel and utilities (one person, Whitehorse): $477 a month from June to September, $557 in October, April and May, and $635 from November to March.
• Clothing: $103 a month per adult or youth aged 14 and over, $56 per child aged 1 to 13.
• Incidentals: $72 (one person) or $214 (two or more) in Whitehorse; $82 / $236 in zone 2; $131 / $368 in Old Crow.
• Special diet: up to $47 a month per person.

For a single adult in Whitehorse paying the maximum shelter, the monthly total before any income is therefore $1,698 in summer ($335 food + $103 clothing + $72 incidentals + $711 shelter + $477 fuel and utilities) and $1,856 from November to March. Shelter and utilities can be combined up to the actual rent as long as at least one utility is included in your rent.

The fixed extras

A time-limited inflation relief payment of $100 a month per person (including children), introduced in 2023, was also being paid in 2025. The Yukon carbon price rebate ended in 2025 after the federal fuel charge was removed.

The whole picture: yearly income of typical households in 2025

Total yearly incomes, including the inflation relief, for Whitehorse:

Who qualifies

• You must live in the Yukon and be in need: your income after exemptions is lower than the maximum benefit for your household, and your liquid assets are under the limit below.
• You can get the shelter allowance only if you pay shelter costs (you rent, own or pay room and board).

Savings you may keep (liquid assets, 2025)

In 2024-25 there were on average about 976 cases (families and single adults) and 1,384 people on Yukon Social Assistance — roughly 1 in 29 Yukoners under 65. About 78% of cases were single adults and 17% single parents, and about 56% of cases also received the Yukon Supplementary Allowance. These numbers cover clients of the Government of Yukon only, not people served by self-governing First Nations or by the federal government.

What happens when you work

Applicants get no exemption: all income reduces the benefit dollar for dollar. Once you have received assistance for at least one month, you become a recipient and:

• the first $100 of net monthly income is exempt for a one-person household ($150 for more than one person) — this base exemption applies to total income, earned or not;
• on each extra dollar, 50% is exempt for the first 36 months (your benefit falls by 50 cents); after that, 25% is exempt (it falls by 75 cents);
• people excluded from the labour force (for example, because of a disability) get an additional $3,900 a year exempt after the base and percentage exemptions.

Worked example

A single adult recipient in Whitehorse, in the first 36 months, earns $800 net in a month. Exempt: $100 + 50% × ($800 − $100) = $450. Counted: $350. Benefit: $1,698 − $350 = $1,348. Total with earnings: $2,148.

Source: Government of Yukon, social assistance rates for November 1, 2025 to October 31, 2026 (the November 2026 table was not yet published on November 13, 2026). The maximum used in this example is the summer total for a single adult in Whitehorse with the maximum shelter.

How to apply

Apply through the Government of Yukon (Health and Social Services) using the application page on yukon.ca or at a local office. Related help for seniors: the Yukon Seniors Income Supplement (up to $323.26 a month, usually automatic) and the Pioneer Utility Grant for heating costs — see the programs page.