I mentioned in my introductory comments that one of the problems is that the number has been pushed farther and farther down in most jurisdictions in Canada as a result of current levels of funding.
Back in the early eighties, it was common for legal aid to ask if you could afford a lawyer, and it actually had a test to look at a person's ability to pay. Since then, they have moved to a more arbitrary measure. If your income or assets are above that level, you won't get legal aid whether or not you can afford a lawyer.