National Child Benefit in Nova Scotia

The Nova Scotia Child Benefit is the provincial government's contribution to the National Child Benefit (NCB) initiative.

This benefit is improving the situation for families with children and is making a difference in preventing and reducing child poverty. Since the NCB began, the percentage of low-income families in Nova Scotia declined from 19.7% in 1998 to 16.6% in 2000 (latest statistics available). We recognize that there is still work to be done, however we remain committed to working towards the elimination of child poverty in Nova Scotia.

Eligibility

The Nova Scotia Child Benefit is provided to all low-income families to help them with the cost of raising children under the age of 18. Over 48,000 children in Nova Scotia receive this benefit each year.

	Monthly benefit	Annual benefit
1st child	$37.08	$445.00
2nd child	$53.75	$645.00
3rd and each additional child	$60.00	$720.00
* Families whose net income is between $16,000 and $20,921 will receive partial benefits.

Next steps

There is no need to apply separately to qualify for the Nova Scotia Child Benefit. Benefits from this program are combined with the federal Canada Child Tax Benefit to a single, non-taxable monthly payment.

As an example, in Nova Scotia the annual maximum combined provincial and federal benefits for a low-income family with two children under the age of 18 would be about $6,300. The provincial and federal governments continue to work together to deliver child benefits to low- income families in the province.