September 2004
Vol. 5, no. 9

• In all provinces, wealth was more unequally distributed than income. In 1999, families in the top income decile held the most wealth, ranging from 42% in Nova Scotia to 52% in Alberta. In seven provinces, families in the top income decile had mean wealth of more than one million dollars.
• Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia, with 85% of all families and 88% of total family wealth, accounted for 93% of wealth inequality in Canada.
• In six provinces, homeownership status explained more of provincial wealth inequality than did income; the reverse was true in Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Quebec, and Alberta.
• The relative contribution to total wealth inequality of families in rented dwellings or those with incomes under $25,000 was almost insignificant. On the other hand, more than half of total wealth inequality in Ontario and British Columbia was accounted for by families with incomes of $100,000 or more.
• Among families in most of the eastern provinces, employer pension plan coverage played an important role in accounting for wealth inequality, whereas for families in the western provinces, business ownership drove inequality.

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Author
Raj K. Chawla is with the Labour and Household Surveys Analysis Division. He can be reached at (613) 951-6901 or perspectives@statcan.gc.ca.

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