Canadian household net worth jumps to highest for over a year

Canadian households’ net worth rose at the fastest pace since the start of 2024 as the value of their financial assets jumped by the most on record.

The total net worth of Canadian households grew to C$18.4 trillion ($13.4 trillion) in the third quarter, according to a report released Thursday by Statistics Canada. That was driven by a C$532.4 billion increase in the value of household financial assets, the largest dollar value gain in data going back to 1990. 

Financial assets made up 54% of total household assets in the third quarter, a proportion that’s climbed steadily since real estate started a long correction at the beginning of 2022. Land and dwellings represent 41% of the value, the data show.

The agency said wealthier Canadians were the most likely to reap the benefits of rising equities, bonds and other financial assets. 

“These gains were likely not evenly distributed among households,” Statistics Canada said in the release, adding that the wealthiest top 20% of households hold nearly 70% of all financial assets.

That makes those households “best positioned to benefit from accruing investment incomes and gains from revaluation when markets perform well,” the agency said.

North American financial markets continued a strong rebound in the third quarter as uncertainty moderated around US trade policy, and equities, particularly artificial intelligence stocks, continued to climb. In Canada, the rising price of gold and improved performance from the big banks boosted the S&P/TSX Composite Index.

Read More: Canadian Stocks Seen Outperforming US Stocks in 2026 on Economy

Household debts continue to rise faster than incomes, the agency said, pushing the credit market debt-to-income ratio to 176.7%.

The household debt service ratio — principal and interest payments as a percentage of disposable income — dipped to 14.64% in the third quarter.

Source: Canadian Mortgage Professional