Manitobans are the most generous people in Canada when it comes to donating to charity, but on average, Canadians give far less to charity than our neighbours to the south, according to a study released today by the Fraser Institute.

It says tax return data people living in Manitoba are the most generous in Canada with donations from 28.5% of tax filers, about 1.02% of total income earned in that province.

Ontario is second with 27.7% of tax filers making a charitable donation amounting to 0.87% of total income earned in that province.

While Manitoba leads Canada, the province is 27th overall in North American jurisdictions and Ontario ranks 30th. Maryland leads all of North America with 44.7% of tax filers donating to charity, followed by New Jersey at 41%.

The conservative think tank also says 30.4% of American tax filers donate to charity, compared with 25.4% of Canadians.

The average U.S. donation is US$4,012, almost four times the average Canadian donation of $1,214 (Cdn).

Americans gave 1.67% of their income to charity, more than double the 0.72% Canadians donated.