from The Toronto Sun:

Canadians trail U.S. in charitable giving

Canada is far behind the United States when it comes to giving to charity and fewer of us are giving each year. In 2007, Americans donated 1.6% of their aggregate income to charity while Canadians donated less than half, at 0.73%. In dollar figures, Canadians donated $8.5 billion to charitable causes, but if we had given at the same rate as our southern neighbours, the total would have been $10 billion.

… The Generosity Index also points out more bad news for Canadian groups that rely on our generous hearts: The percentage of people donating to charity is dropping. Data shows that in 10 out of 13 of the provinces and territories, there have been decreases from 1997 to 2007.