A spokesperson for Statistics Canada says southeastern Manitoba is definitely one of the most generous areas of Canada.

Francois Page made that comment Friday, after Stats Canada released data from the 2018 tax year. Numbers show that for the third consecutive year, Steinbach had the highest median donation through the tax file system for Canadian cities with a population of more than 10,000. There are 152 of these cities in Canada. The median amount represents the middle point; so half of the donors gave more than the median and the other half gave less.

When you examine the numbers even further, you see that there were 14,450 residents of Steinbach who filed a tax return in 2018. Of that amount, 28.7 per cent claimed a charitable donation, which is up from the provincial average of 22.4 per cent and the national average of 19.4 per cent. The average donation in Steinbach was $4,500, while the median donation was $2,100.

But, when you highlight median donations, there are at least two other communities in the southeast with an even higher amount than Steinbach. Blumenort continues to lead the way with the highest median donation among tax filers in the southeast. In 2018, Blumenort's median donation was $3,820, followed by Kleefeld ($2,250), Steinbach ($2,100), Landmark ($1,740), New Bothwell ($1,700) Grunthal ($1,560), Niverville ($1,090), Ste. Anne ($630) La Broquerie ($600), St. Pierre ($500), St. Malo ($400) and Lorette ($360). The national average was $310.

"The area does stand out," says Page. "There's a couple of other areas across Canada that may have similar patterns, but it definitely is one of the most generous areas when you look at things like median donations."

In regards to Steinbach's data, the highest average donation is by the 55 to 64 age group. That differs from the national scene, where the 65 and over age category claims the highest average donations.

Meanwhile, for 14 years running, Manitoba is the province with the highest proportion of tax filers that declare a charitable donation. Page says similar to the national numbers, the percentage of tax filers having declared charitable donations in Manitoba has slightly decreased.