Gap between richest and poorest Canadians widened again in 2025, StatsCan says

The gap between Canada’s richest and poorest grew last year as financial markets gained, interest payouts declined and the job market softened, said Statistics Canada on Monday.

The agency says the income gap — measuring the difference in the share of disposable income between households in the top 40 per cent and those in the bottom 40 per cent — reached 46.7 percentage points in 2025.

The result compared with a gap of 46.4 percentage points a year earlier.

The wider gap came as the lowest-income households saw wages rise slower than the overall average and saw their investment income fall because of lower interest payments on savings, the agency said.

Meanwhile, Statistics Canada says the top 20 per cent of the wealth distribution accounted for 65.7 per cent of Canada’s total net worth at the end of 2025, averaging $3.5 million per household.

In contrast, the bottom 40 per cent of the wealth distribution held three per cent of Canada’s net worth, averaging $81,650 per household.

The gap in wealth between the top 20 per cent and the bottom 40 per cent was 62.7 percentage points at the end of 2025, up 0.6 percentage points from a year earlier.

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Insolvency practice MNP Ltd. said Monday that the rising divide could also be seen in financial surveys, though it also noted signs of overall stability.

It said its survey-based debt index has held steady over the last year as Canadians have become cautious on spending, but that financial pressures remain uneven. The survey also showed some Canadians were not making enough to cover bills and debt payments, while many more are holding back on major financial decisions.

“Many Canadians are not just feeling financial pressure, they are navigating an environment that continues to shift, increasing uncertainty and making it more difficult to plan, budget, and stay ahead financially,” said Grant Bazian, president of MNP Ltd., in a news release.