Thousands of Albertans have uncashed federal cheques right now
A new report just revealed that Albertans are sitting on a pile of uncashed benefit cheques, with more than $1.15 million in payments yet to be claimed.
According to data provided by Public Services and Procurement Canada, more than 3,330 uncashed cheques are tied to three Alberta programs: the Alberta Child Benefit, the Alberta Climate Rebate, and the Alberta Family Employment Tax Credit.
The data looks at fiscal years 2022 to 2023 through September 2025 and includes both the number of cheques issued and the total dollar amounts that remain unclaimed. Most payments from these programs are issued by direct deposit, but cheques are still used for recipients without banking information on file.
Among the three Alberta programs, the Alberta Child Benefit had the most uncashed cheques, with 2,553 cheques worth a total value of $912,168.
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The Alberta Climate Rebate followed, with 730 uncashed cheques totalling $222,443, while the Alberta Family Employment Tax Credit had the fewest, with 35 uncashed cheques worth $20,239.
You can find out if you received benefits or refunds from the CRA by logging in to your CRA account. According to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC), you have a right to cash your cheque for free at a bank (including federal credit unions) and at authorized foreign banks.
“You can cash a Government of Canada cheque no matter how old it is. Government of Canada cheques don’t have an expiry date and never expire,” states FCAC. “However, it may take longer to cash an older cheque because a financial institution may first want to verify that the cheque is legitimate.”
In total, Canadians are sitting on $2 billion in uncashed federal benefit cheques.
You can view the full report online.
With files from Irish Mae Silvestre.