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Description: The data on natural wealth reflects reserves of energy, selected minerals and timber (2021 preliminary).

Description: Each year, Statistics Canada produces a report on foreign control {Foreign control in the Canadian economy}, as stipulated in the Corporations Returns Act. This report draws a national profile of foreign control in the Canadian corporate economy, examining financial and ownership information on corporations conducting business in Canada. This information is used to evaluate the extent and effect of non-resident control of the Canadian corporate economy. The report includes charts and tables providing time series on selected financial characteristics (assets, operating revenue and operating profits) by specific country of control and classified by major industry groups. The statistics provided in the Corporations Returns Act report are presented at the 21-industry level, using the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS Canada 2017). Previous versions of this report may use different industry classification systems. The industry system used will be referenced within the specific version.

Description: This documentation outlines the methodology used to develop the Distributions of household economic accounts published in March 2023 for the reference years 2010 to 2022. It describes the framework and the steps implemented to produce distributional information aligned with the National Balance Sheet Accounts and other national accounts concepts. It also includes a report on the quality of the estimated distributions.

Description:

This documentation outlines the methodology used to develop the Distributions of household economic accounts published in August 2022 for the reference years 2010 to 2021. It describes the framework and the steps implemented to produce distributional information aligned with the National Balance Sheet Accounts and other national accounts concepts. It also includes a report on the quality of the estimated distributions.

Description: The data on natural wealth presented reflects the proven & probable reserves for select minerals and established active reserves for energy (2020 preliminary).

Description: The cross-sectional public-use microdata file for the Survey of Financial Security is a collection of income, assets, debts and wealth data on the economy of Canadian families. The production of this file includes many safeguards to prevent the identification of any one person or family.

The file is produced at the economic family level with information on family demographics; income; financial behaviours and attitudes; principal residence; assets, debts and net worth; family composition and size; and the major income recipient.

Please see the user guide for more information.  

Description:

This infographic provides a snapshot of the net worth of Canadian families by province and family type in 2019. In addition, there's a focus on the most common asset and debt holdings of families. This infographic uses data from the Survey of Financial Security.

Description:

It has been well-documented that postsecondary graduates, on average, earn considerably more than others. Consequently, increasing postsecondary enrollment among youth from lower-income families—through targeted student aid or community outreach programs—may constitute an effective mechanism for promoting upward income mobility. However, there currently exists no evidence of the benefits of a postsecondary education (PSE) for youth from lower-income families per se. Using postsecondary administrative records and income tax records, this study bridges this information gap by estimating the association between earnings and PSE by level of parental income among a cohort of Ontario postsecondary graduates and a comparison group of Ontario youth who did not enroll in a postsecondary institution.

Description:

This infographic examines economic wellbeing for millennials (those between 25 and 34 years old in 2016) and provides a comparison with generation X at the same age (those between 25 and 34 years old in 1999). Information is provided on income, assets, debts and net worth.

Description:

While several studies have documented the evolution of the earnings of immigrants in Canada over the last three decades, the evolution of immigrants’ wealth has received relatively little attention. Using data from the Survey of Financial Security of 1999, 2005, 2012 and 2016, this study fills this gap. The study uncovers several key patterns.

Description: The data on natural wealth reflects reserves of energy, selected minerals and timber (2021 preliminary).

Description: Each year, Statistics Canada produces a report on foreign control {Foreign control in the Canadian economy}, as stipulated in the Corporations Returns Act. This report draws a national profile of foreign control in the Canadian corporate economy, examining financial and ownership information on corporations conducting business in Canada. This information is used to evaluate the extent and effect of non-resident control of the Canadian corporate economy. The report includes charts and tables providing time series on selected financial characteristics (assets, operating revenue and operating profits) by specific country of control and classified by major industry groups. The statistics provided in the Corporations Returns Act report are presented at the 21-industry level, using the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS Canada 2017). Previous versions of this report may use different industry classification systems. The industry system used will be referenced within the specific version.

Description: The cross-sectional public-use microdata file for the Survey of Financial Security is a collection of income, assets, debts and wealth data on the economy of Canadian families. The production of this file includes many safeguards to prevent the identification of any one person or family.

The file is produced at the economic family level with information on family demographics; income; financial behaviours and attitudes; principal residence; assets, debts and net worth; family composition and size; and the major income recipient.

Please see the user guide for more information.  

Description:

This publication presents, on a quarterly basis, balance sheet, income statement, statement of changes in financial position and ratio data for the last five quarters. It covers 22 financial and non-financial sectors and their totals at the Canada level. The industry breakdowns are based on the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS 2012).

Description:

The publication is a joint initiative by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Statistics Canada providing detailed financial information (assets, liabilities, revenues and expenditures data) on farms across Canada. The data are disaggregated by province, farm type and revenue class. This publication also includes data highlights, information on concepts, methods, data quality and the survey questionnaire.

Description:

This publication presents transactions in Canadian and foreign bonds and stocks and in Canadian money market securities with non-residents. Transactions in each security are classified into new issues, retirements and trade in outstanding securities which shows sales and purchases. Monthly gross and net transactions are presented geographically with the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, other countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and other foreign countries by type of security.

This publication also includes historical data, as well as position information, quarterly and annually, on Canadian bonds and money market paper and a table on selected stock prices and capital market yields.

Description:

This publication contains annual data from 1981 to date for the balance sheet of the agricultural sector, at December 31, for Canada and the provinces. Data highlights and concepts and methods are also included.

In May, annual measures for the previous two calendar years are subject to revision. In November, estimates for the previous three years may be revised. Every five years a historical revision is done, based on the results of the Census of Agriculture. Although the data are available in late May and late November, the publication is not completed and released until the following July and January, respectively.

Description: This product provides data for national and sectoral wealth and net worth in the form of quarterly balance sheets for the total economy and its component sectors. Sector aggregations and tangible and financial asset and liability categories are reconcilable to quarterly financial flow account transactions. The diskettes include historical data, and is no longer being released.

Description:

This product contains statistics on registered pension plans at January 1, 2003. The major topic covered are plans and members by areas of employment, jurisdiction of plans registration, type of plan, public and private sector, funding arrangement, employee/employer contribution formula, benefit method and annual contributions made to a registered pension plan.

Statistics on Retirement compensation arrangements are also included and show the number of trusts, the assets, contributions and benefits for 1991 to 2001.

Description:

The publication presents information from companies primarily engaged in the gathering and transportation of crude oil and liquefied petroleum gases to refineries and for export. Details include: operating revenue/expenses, employment and payroll, balance sheet data, pumping stations, pipeline length and truck line systems, receipts and disposition of crude oil, summary of pipeline movements of crude oil and equivalent and liquified petroleum gases.

Description:

Buoyed by rising incomes coupled with stable inflation and low interest rates, Canadians went on a spending spree between 1999 and 2005. However, much of the increased spending was financed through credit, as the personal savings rate slumped and per capita debt jumped. This paper divides families into seven cohorts, based on the year of birth of the major income recipient, and compares family assets and debts in 2005 with the situation in 1999 to provide a rough life-cycle portrait of Canadian families.

Description:

A wide variety of assets can be held in registered retirement savings plans ranging from investments with predictable values, like guaranteed investment certificates, to those whose values vary, like stocks of individual companies. Returns to these investments, and therefore income levels in retirement, can vary dramatically, depending on the economic climate and the mix of investments. This article examines the characteristics of families with RRSPs and the allocation of assets within their RRSPs according to the level of predictability of the return on investment.

Description:

This paper offers empirical evidence on the actual rates and forms of economic depreciation for a comprehensive set of assets. Using a Canadian micro database on the purchase and disposal of capital goods from Statistics Canada's Capital Expenditure Survey, the study estimates depreciation rates for 36 asset categories, which represent half of the Canadian business capital stock. Depreciation rates for the remaining assets are calibrated using the average age-price relationship from the estimation and surveyed service lives obtained from the Capital Expenditure Survey. The impact of the estimated depreciation rates on the Canadian capital stock and depreciation allowances is also presented.

Description:

This study uses administrative tax data and the Survey of Financial Security to explore trends in the number and characteristics of high-income Canadians, as well as their wealth and effective income tax rates, from 1982 to 2004. The paper uses a range of thresholds to delineate high income and emphasizes statistics on the top 5%, 1%, 0.1% and 0.01% of tax filers.

The study found that an individual income of $89,000 was needed to be counted among the top 5% if income recipients in 2004. A family income of $154,000 would place one in the top 5% of families. The growth in incomes at the high end has been quite rapid while incomes of the majority of the population remained stable. Compared with the U.S., Canada had significantly fewer high-income recipients in 2004, and their incomes were considerably less. Higher-income individuals tend to be middle aged married males that live in the larger urban centres. While women have made up a larger portion on the top 5% of tax filers since 1982, they have not made gains in the very highest income groups. High income Canadians have roughly the same share of total wealth as they do of total income.

High income Canadians, in line with an increasing share of total income, have been paying an increasing share of total personal income taxes. Their share of total income increased from 21% to 25% between 1992 and 2004 while their share of income taxes paid increased from 30% to 36%. At the same time their effective tax rate dropped from 29% to 27%. Thus despite lower tax rates the increase in incomes was large enough, when combined with the progressive tax system, to result in an increased share of total taxes paid by high income Canadians. There is considerable heterogeneity in effective tax rates at the individual level with some high income individuals facing an effective tax rate of over 45%, while some pay as little as 10%. The proportion of tax filers, across the income distribution, who pay zero taxes decreased between 1992 and 2004.

Description:

This report provides an overview of the results of the Survey of Financial Security (SFS). This survey collected information on the assets and debts of families and unattached individuals. Data collection took place from May to July 2005, in all provinces.

The 2005 SFS provides a comprehensive picture of the wealth of Canadians. Information was collected on the value of all major financial and non-financial assets and on the money owing on mortgages, vehicles, credit cards, student loans and other debts. The value of these assets less the debts is referred to in this report as net worth.

Description:

Corporations have been posting record profits over much of the last decade. Meanwhile, business fixed capital investment has been relatively sluggish in recent years. This situation has led to a significant shift in the corporate sectors' net lending/borrowing position - from one of a chronic deficit position to one of sustained surplus. After having run deficits for almost 30 years, corporations have emerged with significant surplus positions in the last decade. This has placed the corporate sector in a new role - that of increasingly supplying funds to the rest of the economy.

This note looks at this development from a few angles, focusing on non-financial corporations. It identifies the underlying causes for, and the major effects of, the development of an expanding corporate surplus position. In short, non-financial corporations have taken advantage of record profits, historically low interest rates and relatively buoyant stock markets to substantially re-structure their balance sheets. It has reached the point where corporate finances, in aggregate, are the healthiest they have been in the last thirty years.

Description:

Foreign control in our economy has fallen and rebounded largely as a result of regulatory changes, especially in energy.

Description:

These products present extensive historical, up-to-date and detailed information covering the following topics: Old Age Security programs, registered pension plans (RPPs), registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs), trusteed pension funds, pension adjustment (PA), retirement compensation arrangements (RCAs), Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Quebec Pension Plan (QPP).

These products will be useful for a wide audience, including pension professionals (e.g., employee benefit and investment specialists), employers and policy analysts, as well as educational institutions whose curricula cover these increasingly important programs.

Important note: Please refer to the content note for specifics concerning the information available in each medium.

Description:

This paper outlines broad changes in foreign ownership in Canada over the last forty years. It makes use of several different but complementary data sources that are produced by Statistics Canada to analyze the importance of foreign ownership in Canada. Over the last four decades, foreign multinationals that are operating in Canada have experienced first, a retrenchment and then, a resurgence in their activities. This retrenchment occurred during the period when foreign investment was tightly regulated and could be found across most industries, but was particularly evident in the energy and mining sector. The resurgence that has occurred subsequent to the introduction of a more liberal regulatory regime was also relatively widespread, though there are several sectors like the science-based and energy industries where this has not occurred.

Description:

Traditionally rates of return in the agriculture sector have been calculated on the market value of the assets as opposed to the historical cost. In other sectors rates of return are calculated on the basis of the historical cost of the assets which has meant that rates of returns in agriculture are not comparable to those in other sectors.

This paper calculates rates of return for incorporated farms, based on the historical cost of the assets and compares these rates of returns to those in other sectors. It also measures the impact of capital gains on the rates of return for the agriculture sector. In the final section of the paper we measure the level of risk with the rates of return both in the agricultural sector and in other sectors.

Description:

This document briefly describes the Survey of Financial Security and presents the questionnaire used for the interview. The Survey of Financial Security (SFS) was conducted during May and June of 1999. The information was collected by personal interview, using a paper questionnaire. Introductory material was sent to the respondent prior to the first contact by the interviewer.

Approximately 23,000 dwellings were selected for the sample, most using the Labour Force Survey frame. The high-income sample was drawn from geographic areas with a larger concentration of high-income households.

The survey collected the following type of information: (1) general demographic information on all members of the family, (2) more detailed information on the education, employment, income, etc., on those family members 15 years of age and older, and, (3) asset and debt information on the family as a whole.

Description:

The intent of this document is to provide an inventory of the surveys, databases, publications, articles and work in progress in Statistics Canada that relate to Canada's retirement income programs. The inventory provides information on publications, output and relevant data elements produced by the surveys and databases. It does not provide an exhaustive description of these data sources, but instead focuses on the information that can be used for purposes of researching/analysing retirement income programs. Some of the information contained does not specifically relate to these programs but might be used as a secondary source when doing research in this area.

Description:

Although income and expenditure data provide an indication of current consumption and ability to purchase goods and services, they provide little information on the long-term ability of families to sustain themselves. The results of this survey will provide information on the net worth (wealth) of Canadian families, that is, the value of their assets less their debts.

This paper examines the objectives of the survey, how the survey has changed since 1984, the types of questions being asked and information that will be provided, as well as other survey background. An accompanying table outlines the content of the questionnaire. The intent of this paper is to describe the work done to date and the next steps for this important subject.

Description:

The main objectives of a new Canadian survey measuring asset and debt holding of families and individuals will be to update wealth information that is over one decade old; to improve the reliability of the wealth estimates; and, to provide a primary tool for analysing many important policy issues related to the distribution of assets and debts, future consumption possibilities, and savings behaviour that is of interest to governments, business and communities.

This paper is the document that launched the development of the new asset and debt survey, subsequently renamed the Survey of Financial Security. It looks at the conceptual framework for the survey, including the appropriate unit of measurement (family, household or person) and discusses measurement issues such as establishing an accounting framework for assets and debts. The variables proposed for inclusion are also identified. The paper poses several questions to readers and asks for comments and feedback.

Description:

This document summarizes the comments and feedback received on an earlier document: Towards a new Canadian asset and debt survey - A content discussion paper. The new asset and debt survey (now called the Survey of Financial Security) is to update the wealth information on Canadian families and unattached individuals. Since the last data collection was conducted in 1984, it was essential to include a consultative process in the development of the survey in order to obtain feedback on issues of concern and to define the conceptual framework for the survey.

Comments on the content discussion paper are summarized by major theme and sections indicate how the suggestions are being incorporated into the survey or why they could not be incorporated. This paper also mentions the main objectives of the survey and provides an overview of the survey content, revised according to the feedback from the discussion paper.

Description:

This paper presents a proposal for conducting a Canadian asset and debt survey. The first step in preparing this proposal was the release, in February 1997, of a document entitled Towards a new Canadian asset and debt survey whose intent was to elicit feedback on the initial thinking regarding the content of the survey.

This paper reviews the conceptual framework for a new asset and debt survey, data requirements, survey design, collection methodology and testing. It provides also an overview of the anticipated data processing system, describes the analysis and dissemination plan (analytical products and microdata files), and identifies the survey costs and major milestones. Finally, it presents the management/coordination approach used.

Description:

During September and October 1997, the Questionnaire Design Resource Centre (QDRC) completed 10 focus groups and 4 in-depth interviews with respondents and 6 debriefing sessions with interviewers in a test of the proposed questionnaires and data collection methodology for the 1998 Asset and Debt Survey (now called the Survey of Financial Security, to be done in 1999).

The main goals of the testing were: to evaluate the data collection methodology and survey instruments (including the introductory materials [guide] and questionnaires [Part 1: background information about family members, Part 2: questions on assets and debts]); to identify problem areas; to make recommendations to ensure that the final survey instruments are respondent-friendly and interview-friendly, that the questionnaires can be easily understood and accurately completed; and finally, to investigate how respondents recall information.

This report summarizes the highlights of the study, including the recommendations based on the findings of the focus groups, in-depth interviews and debriefing sessions, as well as those from the experience of the QDRC in carrying out similar studies for other household surveys.

Description:

This report presents the results of the May 1993 Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID) test as they relate to the wealth items, at the individual level and at the family level.