By the Numbers: The wealth gap in Canada

By the Numbers: the wealth gap in Canada Ottawa – August 10, 2018 – The wealth gap between the 86 richest families in Canada and the rest of us is growing at alarming rate, according to a staggering new report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA). A major factor in Canada’s rapidly growing wealth gap is our country’s lack of an inheritance tax on high worth estates (more than $5 million).

  • 4,448 – the wealthiest 86 families in Canada, now have 4,448 times more wealth than the average Canadian family.

  • $3 billion – between 2012 and 2016, the average wealth of the 86 richest families increased by 37 percent to $3 billion.

  • $259 billion – these 86 families have a net worth of $259 billion, roughly equal to the combined wealth of 1.43 million Canadians.

  • 50 percent – Canada's 20 richest families take almost 50 percent of all the income in Canada.

  • 11.4 million – in 2012, the 86 wealthiest families in Canada held the same amount of wealth as the poorest 11.4 million Canadians combined.

  • 6 of 7 – Canada is the only G7 country without taxes on inheritance or estates.

  • 0.002 percent – the wealthy 86 represent only 0.002% of Canadians, but they hold the same amount of wealth as the bottom 34% of the population.

For more on the growing wealth gap in Canada, check out a new report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives called Outrageous Fortune: Documenting Canada's Wealth Gap.