Advertisement

Canadians are wealthier than ever before

Canadians may be seeing their non-mortgage debt rise, but they’re also seeing more wealth than they ever have before, too.

According to the new WealthScapes 2017 report by Environics Analysis, Canadians are the wealthiest they’ve ever been, with the average household net worth rising by 12 per cent over the previous year to $770,635.

“Strong performance in the stock market buoyed Canadian investments [in 2016],” said Peter Miron, vice president of demographic and economic data at Environics Analysis, in a press release. “The biggest housing markets experienced real estate appreciation. And many Canadians increased their saving rates. This is the wealthiest Canadians as a whole have ever been.”

The three wealthiest provinces, British Columbia, Ontario and Alberta have been at the top of the list for years. This year, B.C. attained an average household net worth of over $1 million for the first time, reaching $1,024,042 for the average B.C. family.

In addition to a hot real estate market in some of Canada’s largest cities, investments across the board (except employer pension plans) also saw a considerable boost, which helped Canadians’ overall net worth rise, too. Thanks to a strong stock market and strong portfolios, the value of stock portfolios rose to an average of $71,990.

“Canadians are looking increasingly well prepared for their retirement,” says Miron. “Even with interest rates starting to increase, they’ve managed strong growth in their liquid assets and real estate portfolio. So they’ve gotten the double benefit of being active savers and earning an increased rate of return on their money.”

Last year, Vancouver became the first city to see the average household net worth reach over $1 million. This year, three more cities join the club. Click through the gallery to see the average net worth of Canada’s major cities.