By the Numbers: Inequality in Canada

$6.6 million

The average compensation of Canada’s best-paid 100 CEOs in 2009.

$42,988

The average wage for Canadians working full-time, year-round.

155 times

How much the best-paid 100 CEOs earn more than average wage.

0 (zero)

The number of women among the best-paid 100 CEOs in Canada in 2009.

20th

Canada ranks 20th, behind the U.S., in a global ranking of women’s equality.

Canada’s richest 1%

Doubled their income share between the late-1970s and 2007.

Canada’s richest 0.01%

Quintupled their share of income during that same period.

Shrinking middle

The share of income for the bottom 80% of Canadian families with children is smaller today than it was a generation ago.

6 in 10 live pay to pay

6 out of 10 Canadians could be in trouble if their paycheque gets delayed.

Debt nation

Canadian consumer debt to financial assets ratio worst of 20 OECD nations.

$1.41 trillion

Canadian household debt.

Child inequality

Canada ranks 17 out of 24 OECD nations on children’s material well-being.

1 in 10

Canadian children live in poverty. 1 in 4 Aboriginal children live in poverty.

The 1% solution

Shifting 1% of Canadians’ collective after-tax income to the 1 in 10 Canadians living in low income would eliminate poverty in Canada.

Source: Canadian Council for Policy Alternatives (CCPA)