How to Apply for Income Assistance in the Northwest Territories

The short answer

Apply in person at your local ECE Service Centre, with a Client Navigator. Income Assistance in the Northwest Territories is run by the Department of Education, Culture and Employment (ECE). It provides financial assistance to Northwest Territories residents to help meet basic needs — food, shelter, and utilities — and can also help with other needs such as clothing, child care, and education. There is no online application: you complete an application for Income Assistance and visit a local ECE Service Centre to provide your identification and information on your finances, and a Client Navigator can help you complete the application. Applications must be received by the end of the month, and once all of your documents are verified, ECE responds within three business days.

This guide covers process only. It gives no advice on whether you qualify, and it gives no benefit dollar amounts, because the program page and handbook publish no rate table — the amount depends on your income, community, and family size, and shelter and utilities are assessed at their actual amounts.

Step 1: Pick the right program

There are two Income Assistance programs:

• Income Assistance for Adults, for people aged 19 to 59 who live in the Northwest Territories.
• Income Assistance for Seniors and Persons with Disabilities, an annual program for people over 60 or with a permanent or long-term disability. You apply every year to qualify.

Since July 1, 2025, seniors and persons with disabilities have the option to apply to either program, so you can choose the one that fits your situation best. Since the same date, the programs also include people applying for permanent residence on humanitarian or compassionate grounds. If you are under 19, you do not qualify for Income Assistance; young people aged 16 to 18 may qualify for support through the Department of Health and Social Services if their home is not safe, if conflicts with parents or guardians keep them away from home, or if they have no parents or guardians.

For the Seniors and Persons with Disabilities program, a person with a permanent or long-term disability provides a Disability Assessment Form completed by a doctor, stating a permanent disability or a long-term disability expected to last more than 12 months. You do not need that form if you receive a federal disability pension or benefit, if you received a disability benefit through another province or territory in the last 12 months, or if you live in a long-term care facility. That program is assessed on the net income you reported on last year's taxes, and you also provide a bank statement when you apply. If you receive it, you may get a monthly payment for shelter, property tax, food, and other daily living expenses, and you can submit utility bills (water, fuel, garbage, sewage) each month for payment in full.

Step 2: Gather your documents

Bring these documents when you meet with the Client Navigator. They are part of your application, and the Client Navigator needs them to complete it:

• Identification — two pieces for each family member, one piece for each child. Examples are a Social Insurance Number, birth certificate, passport, status card, statutory declaration, or General Identification Card. The Client Navigator can help you get a General Identification Card.
• Proof you are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, for every family member born outside Canada. Examples are a citizenship card or papers, immigration form IMM 1000, a permanent resident card, a claim for refugee status, or sponsorship papers.
• Bank statements, every time you apply. Provide statements for all bank accounts, including joint accounts.
• Employment income, every time you apply. All pay stubs from any job, honorarium pay, and records for any business, self-employment, or income from hunting, trapping, babysitting, or arts and crafts.
• Employment Insurance and Workers' Compensation payments, every time you apply.
• Federal benefits. Your Notice of Assessment the first time you apply, or by June 30 every year after, plus your GST credit, Canada Child Benefit, Canada-NWT Housing Benefit, income tax refund, and NWT Cost of Living Offset statements.
• Rent report (Form G, provided by your Client Navigator) and proof of home ownership, the first time you apply or when your rent, location, or household changes.
• Utility bills — copies of all of them (water, sewer, power, and fuel), every time you apply.
• Details of any other money you receive, every time you apply. Loans including payday loans, bingo winnings, settlements, and monetary gifts.

You will also sign a Statement and Authorization as part of the application. It is a legal document that you and your spouse sign, agreeing to follow the program rules and allowing staff to confirm the details of your application. Your Client Navigator will explain it before you sign. You can bring a friend, family member, or advocate with you to any appointment.

Step 3: Meet a Client Navigator at your ECE Service Centre

Contact your regional ECE Service Centre to set up an appointment. The centres are:

• Beaufort Delta — Inuvik, Kigiaq Centre, 106 Veterans Way. Phone 867-777-7365, toll-free 1-855-283-9311.
• Sahtu — Norman Wells, Edward G. Hodgson Building, 106 1A Raven Road. Phone 867-587-7159, toll-free 1-866-814-9840.
• Dehcho — Fort Simpson, Chief Baptiste Cazon Building, 9802 98th Avenue. Phone 867-695-7338, toll-free 1-833-995-7338.
• South Slave — Fort Smith, McDougal Square, 195 McDougal Road. Phone 867-872-7425, toll-free 1-833-936-2110.
• North Slave — Yellowknife, Nova Plaza, 5019 52nd Street. Phone 867-767-9356, toll-free 1-866-768-8145.
• South Slave — Hay River, Courthouse Building, 8 Capital Drive. Phone 867-874-5050, toll-free 1-833-936-2110.

The Yellowknife and Behchokǫ̀ service centres have temporarily adjusted public hours to 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday to Friday. For general questions about ECE Income Security programs, call 1-866-973-7252. Collect calls are accepted.

At your appointment, the Client Navigator explains the Income Assistance programs and answers your questions, reviews your application (and helps you complete it if you have not), makes sure you have provided all required documents, and tells you what is still needed if anything is missing. You can complete the application on your own or when you first meet with the Client Navigator.

If you are fleeing family violence and do not want to share information with the Client Navigator directly, a trusted third party such as a social worker, shelter worker, or band council can bring the information forward on your behalf. You will be seen within one business day, you can receive assistance with minimal documentation at your first appointment, and you may be able to access additional funding during this time.

Step 4: How your need is worked out

You have a financial need when your basic needs cost more than your income. Basic needs are shelter, utilities (power, fuel, water), food, and clothing, assessed on where you live — your community and type of housing. Other needs may be included depending on your situation: child care, education and training, emergencies, fees to suspend criminal records, and security deposits for rent or utilities. Cable, internet, phone, credit card debt, funeral costs, medical and dental costs, loan debt, vehicle payments, and other debts from before you apply are not included.

The program looks at two kinds of income:

• Earned income — money from working: wages or salary, an honorarium, babysitting, Employment Insurance and Workers' Compensation, hunting, trapping, fishing, self-employment, and selling arts, crafts, or music.
• Unearned income — money from other places: the Canada-NWT Housing Benefit, gifts or gambling winnings, GST and income tax refunds, investments, Indigenous Skills and Employment Training, loans including payday loans, scholarships or bursaries, and Student Financial Assistance.

Some money is not counted in your application, but you must still tell your Client Navigator about it: money for children (Canada Child Benefit, Child Disability Benefit, maintenance or child support payments, payments by Child and Family Services for a foster child), the NWT Cost of Living Offset, the value of food bank goods and hampers, medical travel benefits, and payments from Indigenous governments and organizations such as treaty or land claim agreement payments.

Two exemptions reduce what counts against you. The earned income exemption lets you keep up to $500 of earned income per month, plus 25 per cent of the amount over $500. For example, if you earned $600 in a month, $525 of it is exempt and does not count in your assessment. The unearned income exemption lets you keep up to $350 of unearned income per month; any unused part of that $350 does not carry over to the next month.

If you are 19 to 21 and live at home with your parent or guardian, you can stay on their application as a mature dependant by completing Form I, provided by your Client Navigator — in that case you do not report your income, and your parent or guardian receives your portion of shelter and utilities but no increase in household basic benefits. Or you can complete your own application, in which case you report your income and submit all required documents, and you may receive basic benefits plus a portion of shelter and utilities.

Step 5: Apply again every month, and keep your dates

Income Assistance is a month-to-month program. You apply every month, and you must report your income every time you apply. Each month's application covers a fixed reporting period — for example, a January application covers November 25 to December 24, and a July application covers May 25 to June 24. Applications need to be received by the end of the month. You also fill out a reporting form each month, and a new application form each year or any time your relationship status changes. If you want a family member, friend, or support person to communicate on your behalf, complete a Consent form — ask your Client Navigator for it.

Three dates matter every year:

• April 30 — file your income tax return.
• June 30 — provide a copy of your Notice of Assessment.
• July 31 — provide your Canada Child Benefit statement, your GST credit statement, and your NWT Cost of Living Offset statement.

Report all changes in your finances or living situation right away, and explore all income sources available to you and your family, such as Employment Insurance or Maintenance Enforcement. If your situation changes, the amount you receive may change too.

Step 6: If payments stop, or your application is denied

You may not receive benefits if you have enough income to meet your financial needs, if you do not tell your Client Navigator about your income or relationship status, or if you make false or misleading statements. If this happens, you may need to wait up to 60 days to reapply. Contact a Client Navigator to discuss your options.

If your application is denied, you will get a letter telling you why, and you can ask for a copy of the regulation or policy used to make the decision. You can also appeal, and a Client Navigator can help you with the appeal process. There are two levels of appeal: the Appeal Committee, then the Appeal Board. Once you file an appeal, the Registrar of Appeals responds within two business days and schedules a hearing. The Appeal Committee hears your appeal within 30 days of filing and makes a decision within 10 business days of the hearing. If you do not agree with the Appeal Committee's decision, the Appeal Board hears your appeal within 45 days of filing and makes a decision within 10 business days of the hearing. The Committee or Board sends you its decision in writing.

Two repayment rules are worth knowing before you apply. If you ask for a rent or utility security deposit to be paid on your behalf, you must pay it back, with $25 subtracted from your benefits each month until it is paid in full. If you receive more money than you were supposed to — an overpayment — you have to pay it back, also at $25 per month until it is paid in full. If you stop receiving benefits, you still need to make arrangements to pay back any outstanding amount.

What this guide could not verify

The program page and handbook publish no benefit rate table, so this guide gives no dollar amount for the basic benefit by family size or community — the amount is worked out from your income, community, and family size, with shelter and utilities assessed at their actual amounts, and your Client Navigator tells you the figure for your household. No online application exists on the pages, so this guide describes the in-person route only. The handbook's older figures for the aged and disabled allowance were not carried, because they come from a 2016–2022 reporting document rather than the current program pages. Confirm the amount for your household with your Client Navigator before relying on any figure you saw elsewhere.

Related guides

• How to Apply for the Canada Child Benefit — the federal child benefit, which is not counted as income in your Income Assistance assessment.
• How to Apply for Old Age Security in Canada — the federal pension for Canadians 65 and older, including Northwest Territories residents leaving Income Assistance at 65.
• How to Apply for the Disability Tax Credit in Canada — the federal disability tax credit, which relates to the Seniors and Persons with Disabilities program.
• How to Apply for Manitoba Employment and Income Assistance — Manitoba's equivalent income support program, for comparison with the Northwest Territories route.
• How to Apply for Nova Scotia Income Assistance — Nova Scotia's equivalent income support program.
• How to Get a Health Card in the Northwest Territories — how to get Northwest Territories health coverage, a separate program from Income Assistance.

Sources

• Government of the Northwest Territories, Education, Culture and Employment, Income Assistance Program — the program summary, eligibility at age 19 and over, funding based on family income and community, the month-to-month deadline, and the in-person application route through an ECE Service Centre.
• Government of the Northwest Territories, Education, Culture and Employment, Income Assistance Handbook — the two programs, the documents checklist, the Client Navigator meeting, the three-business-day decision and two-business-day first payment, monthly reporting periods, income types and exemptions, the 19-to-21 rule, the Seniors and Persons with Disabilities program, appeals, stopped payments, and the $25-per-month repayment rules.
• Government of the Northwest Territories, Education, Culture and Employment, ECE Service Centres — the regional service centre network and the temporarily adjusted Yellowknife and Behchokǫ̀ hours.
• Government of the Northwest Territories, Education, Culture and Employment, Income Security Programs Vision and Principles — the Income Security program list, the 1-866-973-7252 contact number, and the service commitments on response and payment timing.
• Government of the Northwest Territories, Income Assistance Programs expand eligibility criteria — the July 1, 2025 change letting seniors and persons with disabilities apply to either program, and the inclusion of people applying for permanent residence on humanitarian or compassionate grounds.