Skip to Content News Archives Economy Energy Oil & Gas Renewables Electric Vehicles Mining Commodities Agriculture Real Estate Mortgages Mortgage Rates Finance Banking Insurance Fintech Cryptocurrency Work Wealth Smart Money Wealth Management Investor Personal Finance Family Finance Retirement Taxes High Net Worth FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials More Innovation Information Technology FP500 Podcasts Small Business Lives Told Tails Told Shopping Financial Post Store Obituaries Place a Notice Advertising Advertising With Us Advertising Solutions Postmedia Ad Manager Sponsorship Requests Classifieds Place a Classifieds ad Working Profile Settings My Subscriptions Saved Articles My Offers Newsletters Customer Service FAQ News Economy Energy Mining Real Estate Finance Work Wealth Investor FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials HomeWealthCanadians’ average wealth hit $1.07 million, but what’s driving net worth depends on your age, province and bracketThe Financial Post Wealth Report breaks down which assets are driving some households forward and the liabilities holding others backLast updated Apr 01, 2026 You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.Total household net worth hit $18.4 trillion in the third quarter of 2025, according to the latest data from Statistics Canada. Photo by BRUNSWICK NEWS ARCHIVESTotal household net worth rose by six per cent year-over-year in the third quarter of 2025 to hit $18.4 trillion, according to the latest data from Statistics Canada. On average, this amounted to $1.07 million per household, with nearly half of this wealth concentrated in real estate. However, a closer look at the data reveals assets, liabilities and net worth gains look very different depending on age, wealth status or even province of residence. In the latest quarterly Financial Post Wealth Report, Serah Louis breaks down which assets are driving some households forward and the liabilities holding other households back. 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If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of Top Stories will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againBooming equity markets caused household financial assets to surge. This was the primary driver for net worth gains, said James Gauthier, a senior economic analyst for the national economic accounts division at Statistics Canada.The main component of financial assets, which Statistics Canada labels as “other financial assets,” includes stocks, bonds, investment funds and cash, and accounts for 45 per cent of household wealth. This component of net worth ballooned by 10.4 per cent year-over-year in the third quarter to $484,700 per household on average.“Canada also benefited from the later-in-the-year rally in precious metals,” said Shelly Kaushik, senior economist at Bank of Montreal (BMO) Capital Markets, adding that Canadians hold a fair concentration of gold.The wealthiest households — the top 20 per cent of the wealth distribution — benefited the most from this growth, as other financial assets make up more than half of their net worth.“It’s the number one driver of their wealth,” said Gauthier.These wealthy households accounted for two-thirds of Canada’s total net worth in the third quarter of 2025, averaging $3.5 million per household. They also increased their net worth at the fastest pace (6.3 per cent) year-over-year compared with other wealth quintiles (an income distribution measure that divides the population into five equal, ranked groups).Millennials grew their other financial assets by 7.8 per cent year-over-year to hit $294,968 on average in the third quarter. About 46 per cent of their wealth is in other financial assets. Baby boomers have a similar percentage in these assets, with about $694,678 on average. For generation X, other financial assets make up 43 per cent of their wealth, or $592,076 on average. The pre-1946 generation boasts the greatest concentration of wealth in other financial assets, at 49 per cent of their net worth, or $396,170 on average.Households in some wealthy provinces have a higher proportion of net worth in these financial assets. In Alberta and Saskatchewan, which boast $1.01 million and $913,720 net worth per household on average respectively, other financial assets account for more than half of household wealth ($569,582 and $526,157 per household).Gauthier said it is possible that since housing is less expensive in these Prairie provinces, households have more money left over to contribute toward their investments. These provinces also tend to draw more migrants, and it is possible some renter households are focusing on growing their financial assets instead of real estate, he said.Other financial assets made up the lowest proportion of net worth for the average household in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, which are less wealthy provinces.Gauthier said households in the Atlantic provinces tend to be older, so they are more likely to be drawing from their wealth rather than accumulating more financial assets.Future wealth gains across all households depend heavily on the performance of financial markets, Gauthier said. For example, in 2020 and 2021 the housing market was a key driver of wealth for younger Canadians but in the past few years financial assets have largely propelled net worth accumulation instead.Life insurance and pensions, a component of financial assets that comprises about 18 per cent of household net worth, grew 7.8 per cent year-over-year in the third quarter to $193,746 per household on average.These assets also make up a higher proportion of wealth in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, which Gauthier said tend to have more older households than other provinces.Life insurance and pensions are greatest for generation X (at $299,655 on average) and make up the highest proportion of net worth for gen Xers (22 per cent), compared with other generations. For baby boomers, the pre-1946 generation and millennials these assets account for 19, 12 and 14 per cent, respectively, or $279,823, $100,402 and $89,877, on average.Gauthier said generation X and younger baby boomers are more focused on contributing to these assets, compared with older Canadians, who are starting to draw down from these savings.Generation X and baby boomer households have a greater concentration of wealth in total financial assets (life insurance and pensions in combination with other financial assets). For gen Xers and boomers, this is 65 per cent compared with 60 per cent for millennials and 61 per cent for pre-1946 households. Year-over-year wealth gains for gen X and baby boomers continued to surpass those of other households.Net worth for baby boomer households rose 7.7 per cent to hit $1.5 million on average, while net worth for generation X households climbed 12.2 per cent to reach close to $1.4 million on average. Pre-1946 households saw their net worth increase by four per cent to reach $806,335 on average.In comparison, millennials saw their average net worth increase incrementally by just 2.3 per cent to $644,321 on average in the third quarter of 2025.Although real estate still makes up a major portion (54 per cent) of household wealth on average, this asset class inched up by just 0.4 per cent, the slowest pace across all assets, to $517,863 per household on average in the third quarter, according to the agency.Real estate accounts for two-thirds of millennial wealth but dropped nearly three per cent year-over-year in the third quarter to $426,271 per household on average.Maria Solovieva, economist at Toronto-Dominion Bank, said millennials are at a stage of life where they typically prioritize home purchases over financial assets.In comparison, real estate makes up about half of generation X net worth, 38 per cent of baby boomer net worth and 37 per cent of the pre-1946 household net worth. Solovieva said some older households are at the stage of their lifecycle where they have begun to downsize to smaller homes, while their financial assets are benefiting from years of accumulation.For most wealth quintiles, real estate makes up the biggest proportion of household net worth. But for the highest wealth quintile (top 20 per cent of the wealth distribution), real estate accounts for just 38 per cent of household net worth, while financial assets dominate instead.“Younger and lower-income households are likely to have a higher concentration of wealth in real estate, since they have had less time or resources to accumulate wealth in other assets,” said Kaushik.In the wealthiest provinces of British Columbia and Ontario, where household net worth on average is $1.33 million and $1.26 million, respectively, real estate makes up more than half of household wealth ($794,418 and $670,502 per household).Gauthier said the value of housing in major metros such as Vancouver and Toronto feed into greater household net worth for these provinces. At the same time, these provinces also showed the slowest growth in net worth gains in the third quarter.“Right now, with house prices stagnant (or falling in some areas), households with higher real estate exposure are likely to see slower growth in net worth,” said Kaushik.Household net worth on average increased by about five per cent in Ontario and B.C. but climbed by about six to seven per cent in other provinces, with Prince Edward Island households experiencing the biggest jump (6.9 per cent), supported by a 13.7 per cent increase in other financial assets.Gauthier said Prince Edward Island experienced the strongest demographic growth across Canada during the third quarter, mainly due to in‑migration of younger households under 35 years old, which may have supported these gains, as younger households are more focused on building wealth.“As well, lower cost‑of‑living pressures and better housing affordability in P.E.I. relative to other provinces may also support stronger growth in household asset accumulation, as households may have more available resources and are less indebted,” Gauthier said.Mortgage liabilities are equivalent to about 13 per cent of household net worth and increased by about four per cent year-over-year to $138,370 per household on average.For millennials, their accumulation of real estate assets is offset by higher mortgage liabilities, which are equivalent to about 27 per cent of their wealth ($171,094 on average). In comparison, mortgage liabilities take up only one per cent of pre-1946 household net worth, three per cent of baby boomer household net worth and 16 per cent of generation X household net worth.Soloveiva said this was the “flipside of the coin” for millennials having a greater concentration of wealth in real estate assets. Older generations are likely to have paid off more of their mortgages due to the stage in their lifecycle.Mortgage liabilities also take up a greater share of net worth for households in the lowest and second wealth quintiles, at $53,972 (-1273 per cent) and $104,019 (62 per cent), respectively.In Ontario and Alberta, mortgage liabilities account for 14 per cent of household net worth, and in B.C. and Manitoba, they take up 13 per cent. However, the average value of mortgage liabilities is highest in Ontario and B.C., at $174,142 and $170,900 respectively, with Toronto and Vancouver’s more expensive housing markets.Other non-financial assets, which include consumer goods such as vehicles, household appliances, furniture, electronics and collectibles, take up a six per cent sliver of household wealth. These assets grew 3.1 per cent to reach $60,385 in the third quarter.Statistics Canada also said that these gains in non-financial assets were offset by increases (four per cent) in their associated liabilities, which shaved off about five per cent of household net worth on average.Compared with older generations, millennials have a higher proportion of their household wealth (eight per cent) dedicated to other non-financial assets (for the pre-1946 generation, baby boomers and generation X, this was four, five and six per cent, respectively).At the same time, millennials have non-mortgage liabilities taking up seven per cent of their net worth as well (compared with one, three and five per cent for the older generations, respectively).Gauthier said this could be attributed to millennials using credit to finance consumer goods such as cars or household appliances, which people are also more likely to purchase at an earlier stage in life.Younger households could be grappling with student debt, as well, Solovieva said.According to the latest market pulse report from Equifax Canada Inc., consumers aged 26 to 35 years old showed the sharpest increase in credit stress, posting the highest delinquency rate at 2.55 per cent.Unsurprisingly, other liabilities were significantly higher than household wealth for the lowest wealth quintile, equivalent to more than 10 times their net worth on average. For the second, third, fourth and highest wealth quintiles, other liabilities took up just 23, nine, four and two per cent of household net worth, respectively.Kaushik said these liabilities mean younger and less wealthy household budgets are more sensitive to changes in interest rates, “especially when rates moved as aggressively as they have over the past few years.”Across Canada, other non-financial assets accounted for anywhere between five per cent to nine per cent of household net worth but were highest in value in B.C. ($77,752 on average) and Alberta ($71,599).Gauthier said this could be explained by households in these provinces having greater capacity to purchase these goods. He said average disposable income for the third quarter was highest in Alberta ($31,811), and average net worth was highest in B.C. ($1,328,785), compared with other provinces.Other liabilities held the most significant proportion of household net worth in New Brunswick but were highest in value in Ontario ($58,657 on average) and Alberta ($58,043 on average). Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.