The wealth gap in Canada is wider than ever + MORE Jul 24th

The wealth gap in Canada has reached a record high of 49% in 2025, according to newly released data from Statistics Canada. That’s the highest it’s been since the agency began collecting this data in 1999. Now, Canadian households in the top 20% of the income distribution own more than two-thirds of the country’s wealth—an average of $3.4 million per household—while those in the bottom 40% hold only 2.8%.

The gap has been increasing steadily since the COVID-19 pandemic, exacerbated by inflation, labour market disruptions, and interest rate fluctuations. Wealthier Canadian households were able to weather economic uncertainty and spiking prices—and indeed, they continue to grow their net worth—while lower-income households experienced losses and took on more debt.

What is the wealth gap?

In this context, the wealth gap, sometimes referred to as the income gap, is “the difference in the share of disposable income between households in the top 40% of the income distribution and the bottom 40%…

Exchange-traded funds have exploded in popularity, and so have investment strategies based only on ETFs, but some investors might be wondering whether that could lead to their portfolio being too diversified.

Financial experts say allocating an entire portfolio to ETFs can be a viable strategy, but it’s important for investors to know what holdings are in the funds they’re buying.

When looking at portfolio diversification for ETF-focused investors, Jonathan Rivard, general principal at Edward Jones, said it’s important to consider the individual’s time horizon and risk appetite.

“You could absolutely be 100% invested in ETFs. But you want to know what’s in the ETF and what the allocation looks like. Some ETFs will be balanced; they’ll have a mix of stocks and bonds in them. Some will be sector products,” Rivard said. “The important thing comes down to understanding what does this basket hold? And if I own multiple ETFs, what does it look like across multiple ETFs in terms of asset allocation?”

Tools

MoneySense’s ETF Screener Tool

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Diversify asset types, not just geography

Prerna Mathews, Mackenzie Investments’ vice-president of ETF product strategy, said there are a few key points to keep in mind regarding diversification, notably, it is important to think beyond just diversifying by geography…