Canadian households are worth much more this year, data from Statistics Canada shows, with real estate among the factors driving up that increase.
The net worth of Canadian households, which is calculated as the value of all assets minus all liabilities, rose 1.3 per cent in the first three months of 2026 to reach just over $18.6 trillion, Statistics Canada said on Friday.
On a per capita basis, the net worth of a Canadian household went from $442,896 to $448,433 in the first quarter of 2026, the agency said.
Both financial and non-financial assets saw an increase. Non-financial assets went up 1.1 per cent in the first quarter of the year, coming after two consecutive quarters of decline in value. This was led largely by the value of residential real estate going up.
This is a sign that Canada’s housing market is recovering after more than a year of weakness, RBC economist Rachel Battaglia said in a note.
“Real estate stabilization provided a welcome reversal after three consecutive quarters of decline,” Battaglia said.
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“This reversal provides a welcome respite from the persistent drag on household wealth, though momentum remains fragile,” she added.
Financial assets, which include things like cash, bank accounts, bonds and stocks, went up 1.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2026, Statistics Canada said.
Canadian households added $148 billion in financial assets during this period, driven largely by mutual funds and the rising value of domestic stocks and investment funds. Domestic stocks went up 3.3 per cent, with gains concentrated in energy and mining stocks.
But it wasn’t just assets, debts went up, too. Both mortgage and non-mortgage debt went up 0.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2026, Statistics Canada said.
Consumer insolvencies — a measure that indicates how many Canadians filed for relief under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act — reached record highs in the first three months of 2026, according to recent data from the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy.
In January, February and March, 37,121 Canadians filed for insolvency, amounting to 17 Canadians filing for insolvency every hour this year, according to the Canadian Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Professionals (CAIRP).
This is the highest volume of Canadians filing for insolvency since the first quarter of 2009, CAIRP said, when the Canadian economy was reeling from the aftershocks of the Great Recession of 2008.
House values going up isn’t a good thing, if you are one of the many, many of us getting systematically shut out of home ownership. You know, anyone born after 1980, basically. So much of the economy being tied to real estate is a disaster, and we will all pay for it in the end. But at least us younger folks are used to getting by on scraps, it will be the people happiest about this news that will suffer the most.
Good luck selling that “asset” for the price it’s “worth” lmao
Makes no sense to me what Statistics Canada says since house prices skyrocketed everywhere due to millions and millions of NEW IMMIGRANTS buying them up and causing our house taxes to go up as well. Rent also skyrocketed according to the media just last year as well because new immigrants drove rent prices up and up so how is it that we are doing better now when the door has closed somewhat on immigration so much slower selling of homes and lowered rent costs?
And this will be reported as a economic gain for Canada by the Liberals and the paid Liberal media will pat them on the back
…aaand it’s gone! Liberals taxed it.
Read the headline.. Then read the last 3 paragraphs. Now read the headline. and the last 3 paragraphs.
The Canadian media in a nutshell.
So inflation is really that bad then. Got it.
But watch the government and paid media spin this into a news story about the price of chocolate being double-plus good.
@ Paid Off Mortgage – If you have been working for 50+ years in Canada you must be around 65-70 years old.
This means you were a part of the “goldilocks” economic era in Human History. You grew up in a time where it was possible to buy a home with a single income. You could afford to go to school with a summer job.
Baby Boomers hold a larger share of the worlds wealth than any generation in history…
Its awesome you paid off your mortgage, but you have to realize that things aren’t like they used to be.
I have made more and saved money under the Trudeau/Carney government than I have made in my 50+ years of working in Canada. The $$$ are there to be made if you are willing to work.
This is most likely just due to inflation. Not actually good news IMHO
Liberal vote-buying is the real reason.
$448,433. I would have thought the number would have been a lot higher than that.
If the cost of housing has gone up that simply means that buying a home is even more out of reach for first time buyers. So much for Carney saying he would make housing more affordable. It is all talk and no results with Carney and the Liberals.