Data from a report issued by Statistics Canada showed a rapidly widening gap between high-income and low-income households at a record pace since 2010.

The report stated that the disparity in net wealth between the poorest and richest households increased by 1.1 percentage points in the first quarter of 2023, indicating the fastest increase since 2010, while the wealth gap had decreased by 1.6 percentage points between the first quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2022.

The report also found that Canadians aged 45 or younger, who represent about 36.2 percent, tend to live in low-income households, while younger households make up 55.2 percent of the bottom two wealth brackets.

With the rising cost of living, the net wealth of the less wealthy declined by 13.8 percent, similar to the losses reported during the same period last year.

Charging fees on real estate properties:

On another front, real estate represented the largest driver of the decline in net wealth for all households, accounting for 92.1 percent, as the net wealth of low-income households was reduced because the increase in mortgage debt exceeded the average value of their homes.

According to the results for this first quarter, the average value of households' owned properties decreased by 8.6 percent, while the national average price of a residential home rose to $686,000, nearly 13.7 percent higher than the first quarter of 2022.

The report also revealed that net value was harmed due to an increase in non-mortgage debts, which rose by 4.6 percent, indicating a decline in net wealth of younger Canadians aged 35 or younger by 8.7 percent compared to their homes.

Meanwhile, Canadians aged 55 to 64 experienced a decrease of 1.8 percent, whereas older Canadians in low-income households relied on their retirement benefit earnings rather than employment and investments as higher-income households did.