Income gap reaches record high in Canada: Statistical agency

Toronto, July 17 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) The gap between Canada’s highest- and lowest-income households reached a record high in the first quarter of 2025, Statistics Canada has announced.

The difference in the share of disposable income between households in the top 40 per cent of the income distribution and the bottom 40 per cent rose to 49 percentage points, the national statistical agency said on Wednesday.

According to the agency, the income gap increased each year following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. A low of 43.8 percentage points was recorded in the first quarter of 2021, reports Xinhua news agency.

The highest income households gained from investments, while the lowest income households’ wages declined, said the agency.

Lower-income households also tend to be more susceptible to job loss during economic downturns. Amid economic uncertainty, labour market conditions have recently weakened. The employment rate has been on a declining trend since early 2023, said Statistics Canada.

In a separate announcement on Tuesday, Statistics Canada said that the country’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 1.9 per cent on a year-over-year basis in June, up from a 1.7 per cent increase in May.

Headline inflation grew at a faster pace, as gasoline prices fell to a lesser extent in June than in May, said the national statistical agency, adding that faster price growth for some durable goods, such as passenger vehicles and furniture, put upward pressure on the CPI in June.

The CPI excluding energy remained higher than the CPI in June, partly due to the removal of consumer carbon pricing in April, said the agency.

On a monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.1 per cent in June, said Statistics Canada.

—