MYTH NO. 1:   Most people on welfare are young men and women who should be out working.
FACT:   Only four per cent of the heads of welfare households are under age 20, and another 12 percent are between 20 and 25.

MYTH NO. 2:   Long term dependence on welfare is rare in Canada.
FACT: More than half of the one-and-a-half million welfare cases (54 percent) in March 1997 had been on welfare continuously for 25 months or more.

MYTH NO. 3:   Welfare rolls have fallen substantially since Canada started recovering from the 1991-92 recession.
FACT:   Welfare caseloads continued to increase after the recession ended, mainly because of continuing high unemployment, rising by nearly half a million between March 1990 and March 1997.

MYTH NO. 4:   Most of the single-parent mothers on welfare are unmarried teenagers.
FACT:   Only three per cent of the single-parent mothers on welfare are under the age of 20.

MYTH NO. 5:   Almost all the people on welfare are adults.
FACT:   Dependent children under 18 account for more than one million of the people on welfare.

MYTH NO. 6:   Disability is not a major reason for people having to rely on welfare.
FACT:   More than one in four heads of welfare households (27 per cent) have a disability as a reason for being on welfare.

MYTH NO. 7:   Many single parent mothers have lots of children in order to boost their welfare cheques.
FACT:   Nearly half of all single-parent families on welfare have only one child, and another 31 per cent have only two children.

MYTH NO. 8:   Most people on welfare don't really have it so bad because they live in subsidized housing and thus pay low rents.
FACT:   Of all the people on welfare in Canada, only seven per cent live in subsidized housing.

MYTH NO. 9:   Most people on welfare receive additional income from part-time work or from EI or government pensions.
FACT:   Only 29 per cent of welfare recipients have outside income from work, EI, pensions or other sources.

MYTH NO. 10:   People who are well educated never end up on welfare.
FACT:   A good education doesn't provide iron-clad protection from welfare, as evidenced by the fact that 11 per cent of the heads of welfare cases have attended post-secondary institutions.

Source: National Council of Welfare. "Profiles of Welfare: Myths and Realities" - Spring 1998. The facts cited above reflect the status of welfare cases in Canada as of March 1997.