Canadian household net worth rose by nearly $250 billion in the first three months of 2026, lifted by gains in stock markets and real estate values, even as households saved less and took on more debt.
The household net worth increased 1.3 percent in the first quarter to just over $18.6 trillion. Financial assets rose 1.3 percent, while non-financial assets, largely real estate, increased 1.1 percent.
On a per-capita basis, household net worth rose from $442,896 to $448,433.
Real gross domestic product was unchanged after declining 0.2 percent in the final quarter of 2025. Household spending continued to increase, but disposable income failed to keep pace.
The household saving rate fell to 3.5 percent from 4.0 percent, reaching its lowest level since the first quarter of 2024. Disposable income increased 0.6 percent, while household spending rose 0.9 percent.
Despite lower savings, Canadians continued to invest heavily in financial markets. Households purchased $75.3 billion in mutual fund units during the quarter, the third-largest acquisition on record. Investment in exchange-traded funds reached a record level.
Households also reduced their holdings of cash and deposits, marking the first quarterly decline since 2013 and the largest drop since late 2001.
Housing values increased even though sales activity weakened.
The value of residential real estate rose 1.3 percent to $8.47 trillion. Statistics Canada said home resales fell 8.4 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis during the quarter. New condominium prices continued to decline in Canada’s two largest condo markets, down 5.9 percent in Toronto and 2.9 percent in Vancouver compared with a year earlier.
Debt levels continued to move higher.
Household credit market debt reached $3.25 trillion by the end of March. The ratio of debt to disposable income rose for a sixth consecutive quarter to 179.6 percent, meaning households held about $1.80 in credit market debt for every dollar of disposable income.
Mortgage borrowing slowed during the quarter. Net mortgage loan originations fell to $22.6 billion, the weakest pace since early 2024. Growth in consumer credit and other non-mortgage borrowing offset much of the slowdown.
The household debt service ratio, which measures required principal and interest payments as a share of disposable income, increased to 14.75 percent from 14.68 percent in the previous quarter. Mortgage interest payments rose 0.9 percent.
The wealthiest 20 percent of households held 65.7 percent of Canada’s total net worth at the end of 2025, with an average wealth of $3.5 million per household. The gap between the top 20 percent and the bottom 40 percent widened over the year.
Government borrowing also remained elevated.
Provincial, territorial and local governments borrowed $41.2 billion in the first quarter, the second-highest quarterly total on record. Federal borrowing reached $32.4 billion. Total government gross debt per capita rose to $103,923, while nominal GDP per capita stood at $80,092.
Canada’s national net worth increased 0.4 percent to $19.2 trillion. The gain was partly offset by a sharp decline in the country’s net foreign asset position, which fell by $310.8 billion to $1.36 trillion, the lowest level since the third quarter of 2023. Statistics Canada attributed much of the decline to losses tied to market price changes.
Higher energy and mineral prices boosted the value of Canada’s natural resource reserves during the quarter. The value of subsoil assets increased 17.6 percent to $1.2 trillion, helping support overall national wealth.