'It's in our DNA': Charity organization names N.S. the most generous province

The giving nature of Nova Scotians has once again proven to be unmatched.

CanadaHelps, the country's largest platform for online donating and fundraising, has named Nova Scotia the country's most generous province based on donors per capita after 2.63 per cent of its residents made donations in 2024 using CanadaHelps.

Nova Scotia held on to the top ranking it earned in 2023. Ontario was the second most generous province, with 2.35 per cent of residents donating, moving up from fourth place a year ago.

"What we saw was over 2.6 per cent of folks who donated in Nova Scotia. That surpassed all other provinces in terms of the percentage," Julie Fiorini, CanadaHelp's general manager of donor services, told CBC Radio's Mainstreet. 

"It seems like a small percentage, but the way we're looking at it … is the number of donors as a percentage of the province's total population. So it's still … the most generous province from our point of view." 

The rankings are based solely on donations made through CanadaHelps. Nova Scotians donated more than $10 million.

Atlantic provinces were some of the highest on the 2024 list. Newfoundland and Labrador ranked third with 2.32 per cent of residents donating, and Prince Edward Island sat fourth at 2.29 per cent.

Fiorini said the charitable tendencies of Nova Scotians are still strong even though the province isn't among those with the highest household incomes.

"There's a very strong culture of philanthropy in the province of Nova Scotia despite personal struggles like dealing with challenges that … Canadians across the board are dealing with," she said. 

Halifax was ranked 22nd among the most generous cities in Canada based on donations through CanadaHelps, with 3.35 per cent of residents making donations. That was a drop from 12th in 2023.

Sarah Lyon is the founder of Nova Scotia Gives More, which is not affiliated with CanadaHelps, and the chief communications and marketing officer with the Nova Scotia SPCA. Lyon told Mainstreet that Halifax's ranking in comparison to the province's top spot says a lot about rural communities. 

"We know rural communities, they know each other. They know when a neighbour's struggling and they want to help. And mutual aid happens a lot," said Lyon. "We don't hear about it. But I think in rural communities there is a sense of planting a tree that you're not going to sit under." 

Even though some organizations face challenges when it comes to receiving donations as households across the province struggle with the cost of living, Lyon said Nova Scotians are always eager to help. 

"It's in our DNA. So, think about the Mi'kmaq who helped the Black Loyalists. Think about after the [Halifax] Explosion, wartime here in Halifax," said Lyon. "It is part of who we are and I'm very proud to come on here to say that Nova Scotia is the most generous province."

It's a sentiment that Fiorini agrees with. 

"[It] is a real testament to the fact that there is some real goodness out there," she said.