Many of the topics covered in The Owl focus on the job market, labour income and the economy. And while we all know Albertans work hard, they also dig deep to help those in need and to support good causes in their communities. In 2014, the median dollar value of charitable donation by tax filer in the province was $440, the highest among all of the provinces.
Within the province, certain towns and cities stand out. Charity runs deep in picturesque Lacombe—it holds the 2014 title as “Most Giving Citizens in Alberta.” In that year, the median donation per tax filer was a whopping $790. No other town or city was even close.
Albertans in other locations still dug deep, however. Rounding out the second, third and fourth places were Wetaskiwin, Lethbridge and Fort McMurray (i.e., Wood Buffalo). Their median donations were $590, $580 and $550, respectively.
It appears that donations in smaller towns and cities tend to be larger than those in the major cities. Lethbridge and Fort McMurray were the only medium-sized cities to be above the provincial average. And both Calgary and Edmonton gave less than the provincial average (although Calgarians were very close to average).
Yet regardless of where Alberta towns or cities placed relative to each other, all can take pride in knowing that we gave much more than most other Canadians. In all locations in Alberta, the median donation was well above the Canadian average of $280.
