Canada Social Transfer

What is the Canada Social Transfer (CST)?

The CST is a federal block transfer to provinces and territories in support of post-secondary education, social assistance and social services, and early childhood development and early learning and childcare.
The CST is calculated on an equal per capita cash basis to reflect the Government’s commitment to ensure that conditional transfers provide equal support for all Canadians.
The CST base increased by $687 million in 2007–08 to support the move to equal per capita cash. In 2008–09, the CST increased by $800 million for post-secondary education and an additional $250 million to support the development of child care spaces.
As announced in December 2011, CST cash levels are set in legislation to continue to grow for 2014-15 and beyond by three percent annually as a result of an automatic escalator applied since 2009–10.
The Government of Canada has increased the transparency of its transfer support through the CST by providing information on the notional allocation of federal support among priority areas:
- support for children,
- post-secondary education,
- and social programs.