The growing gap: How extreme wealth concentration is changing the Canadian financial landscape

For years, official data from Statistics Canada has obscured the extreme wealth held by the ultra-wealthy because it only tracks wealth by decile (groups of 10%). By combining this data with the Forbes billionaire lists, researchers were able to get a much clearer picture of the true wealth gaps across the country.

The findings are stark. Across Canada, the wealthiest 1% of families controlled $3.7 trillion in 2023. That is nearly a quarter of all wealth in Canada, and it represents a staggering $3 trillion increase since 1999.

How your province stacks up

Depending on how you measure it, different provinces can claim the title of the most unequal region in the country.

If you look strictly at the raw numbers, Ontario is the undisputed hub for Canada’s ultra-rich. The province is home to 38 billionaire families, which represents 44% of the country’s total billionaire population of 86 families. Ontario also boasts 1,570 centi-millionaire families (those with a net worth of at least $100 million) and 51,360 deca-millionaire families (with a net worth over $10 million).

When it comes to pure averages, Ontario’s wealthiest 0.01% of families hold an average of $546 million. British Columbia is next with an average of $501 million, followed by Quebec at $408 million and Alberta at $393 million.

However, the story changes when we look at the share of total wealth held by the ultra-wealthy within each province. Alberta actually leads the country, with the wealthiest 1% controlling 25% of the province’s total wealth. Quebec follows closely behind at 24.6%, while Ontario sits at 22.3% and British Columbia ranks near the bottom at 20%.

The contrast between the average wealth numbers and the overall shares comes down to real estate.

In British Columbia and Ontario, astronomical housing prices have lifted the net worth of the typical middle class family. Because a home is the primary financial asset for most Canadians, these high property values pull up the median family wealth to $632,000 in British Columbia and $500,000 in Ontario. This mathematically lowers the total share held by the top 1%. In contrast, lower homeownership rates in Quebec depress the wealth of the typical family, leaving the median family wealth at just $286,000 and giving the ultra-wealthy a larger piece of the provincial pie.

Turn your home equity into your financial safety net. Are "invisible" costs making your budget feel tight? A reverse mortgage could be the key to unlocking tax-free funds, allowing you to stay in the home you love while boosting your monthly cash flow.

The true scale of the divide

To truly understand how this impacts the broader financial landscape, it helps to look at the gap between the highest earners and those struggling to get by.

While a tiny handful of families have accumulated immense fortunes, millions of Canadians are completely left out of the wealth accumulation cycle. To put it in perspective, while just 3,380 Canadian families have accumulated at least $100 million in wealth each, a staggering 4.4 million people lived in families below the poverty line, with the greatest number living in Ontario.

The report highlights this stark contrast by comparing the number of deca-millionaire families against the population living below the Market Basket Measure, which is Canada’s official poverty line. In Ontario, while 51,360 families hold more than $10 million in wealth, over 1.9 million people have incomes insufficient to meet their basic needs. In Quebec, 18,710 families have a net worth above $10 million, while 686,500 people fell below the poverty line in 2023.

What this means for your money

At first glance, the wealth of billionaires may feel disconnected from your daily financial life. However, extreme wealth concentration directly influences the broader economy, affecting everything from property values to public services.