Insights into the Human Face of the Ontario Basic Income Pilot: Fragments of a Shattered Social Experiment in Thunder Bay, Canada

Abstract In 2018 the Ontario Basic Income Pilot was launched in three Ontario cities and was cancelled abruptly months later after a change in government. This paper summarises the results of a qualitative study in one of those cities, Thunder Bay, Ontario. In partnership with a local community legal clinic, we interviewed 20 former recipients of the program and 13 key informants to understand two things. First, how did people experience the Ontario Basic Income Pilot for the time it was active? Second, how did people experience the cancellation of the Ontario Basic Income Pilot? After analysing the interviews using Thematic Analysis, we provided answers by way of themes. In general, the Ontario Basic Income Pilot was experienced as positive. Recipients discussed six main benefits: (a) improved financial security; (b) improved food security; (c) increase mental and physical health; (d) improved social mobility; (e) increased humanization; and (f) improved social inclusion. The cancellation on the other hand had largely negative effects. This includes a reversal of all of the aforementioned benefits as well as a decreased trust in government. We conclude the paper with a brief discussion covering two points. First, we explore what our small qualitative study suggests about the intended aims of the Ontario Basic Income Pilot; we do this by loosely comparing our findings with the preliminary survey administered on behalf of the provincial government. Second, we consider what a basic income might mean for the unique circumstances in which Thunder Bay finds itself.