20 most generous cities in Canada list includes 8 Ontario communities

A new list ranks the Canadian communities that gave most generously in 2024.

Online fundraising platform, GoFundMe, has released its 20 most generous communities in Canada list for 2024.

A remarkable one in 13 Canadian adults made donations through the platform in 2024, GoFundMe said. Causes include supporting local businesses, healthcare needs and, sadly, funeral costs.

Despite cost-of-living increases, there was an eight per cent increase in donations in 2024 through the platform compared to 2023. GoFundMe recorded $280 million raised in Canada for people, causes and organizations around the world.  

GoFundMe ranks the top 20 most generous communities by measuring the number of donors per capita made through the platform.

Topping the list are British Columbia cities and towns with Victoria ranking first for the second year in a row, GoFundMe said.

More than 19,500 people donated to campaigns in Victoria in 2024. With a population of nearly 92,000, that results in a per capita donation rate of 21.3 per cent – that’s over one in five Victorians.

In Ontario, eight communities make the top 20.

The most generous community in Ontario is Milton where over 7,600 donors in Milton for 2024. With a population of approximately 133,000, that results in a per capita donor rate of 5.75 per cent, a GoFundMe spokesperson told INsagua.com.

There were 204 GoFundMe campaigns created and $1,489,494 raised in Milton in 2024.

In sixth place, just under Milton, is Brampton where over 35,000 donors supported campaigns 2024. With a population of more than 656,000, that results in a per capita donor rate of 5.37 per cent.

Most recently, a Brampton fundraiser supported the family of a man shot and killed in the city.

Thunder Bay is in eighth place, followed by Guelph in eleventh place, Whitby in twelfth place and Kitchener is fourteenth. Pickering, Waterloo and Toronto round out the list at seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth place.

In Thunder Bay, GoFundMe recorded approximately 5,767 donors for 2024.With a population of more than 108,800, that results in a per capita donor rate of 5.3 per cent.

In Guelph, there were approximately 7,384 donors for 2024. With a population of more than 143,700, that results in a per capita donor rate of five per cent.

GoFundMe recorded approximately 7,059 donors in Whitby for 2024. With a population of more than 138,500, that results in a per capita donor rate of 5 per cent.

Nearby in Pickering there were approximately 4,756 donors in 2024.With a population of more than 99,100, that results in a per capita donor rate of almost five per cent.

In Kitchener, GoFundMe recorded approximately 12,780 donors for 2024. With a population of more than 256,800, that results in a per capita donor rate of almost five per cent.

GoFundMe recorded approximately 5,818 donors in Waterloo for 2024. With a population of more than 121,400, that results in a per capita donor rate of almost five per cent.

Finally, in Toronto, there were approximately 133,765 donors in 2024. With a population of more than 2,794,000, that results in a per capita donor rate of almost five per cent.

For more information, see the story from GoFundMe here.

Lead photo: Liza Summer