B.C. families wealthiest in country, says Statistics Canada

Canadian families have become wealthier during the pastseveral years, with net worth rising despite the well-documentedgrowth in household debt and the set-back from the recession, a newStatistics Canada study shows.

In a report that takes a long view on the state of Canadianfinances, the agency finds that the 2012 mediannet worth amongfamily units of two or more persons has risen 44.5 per centsince 2005 to $243,800, and almost 80 per cent from 1999.

Those family units have also accumulated more debt, a total of$1.3 trillion in 2012, of which about $1 trillion is mortgage debt,up 41.6 per cent from 2005. All figures are in inflation-adjusteddollars.

Bank of Montreal chief economist Doug Porter said the data showthat while household debt remains a vulnerability for the economy asa whole, Canadians families' overall finances are generally in goodshape.

"The standout is the tremendous growth in net worth over the13-year period. It works out to average annual increases of betterthan five per cent, which is quite impressive," he said.

"To me the bigger picture is that assets remain about seventimes the size of debt."

Porter said that doesn't mean household debt is a non-issue, butsaid its biggest impact on the economy will be to act as a check onconsumer spending going forward.

Overall, total family assets in Canada rose to $9.4 trillion in2012, with the value of families' principle home representing onethird of the total assets. Pension assets, including employer plansand private pension plans, made up 30 per cent of the total, whileother real estate holdings rental properties, cottages, timesharesand commercial properties represent almost 10 per cent.

For those who owned their homes, the median reported value of theresidence was $300,000, up 46.6 per cent from 2005 and 83.2 per centfrom 1999.

The report also found large disparities in net worth depending onage, the nature of the family unit, and regions of the country.

For instance, median net worth was highest for families where theperson with the highest income was 55 to 64 years old in 2012. For that group it came in at $533,600, more than double for the overallpopulation.

British Columbia reported the highest family median net worth at$344,000, more than double families in Newfoundland and Labrador andPrince Edward Island that came in at $167,900 and $150,300respectively.

And lone parent families had the lowest median net worth of only$37,000.

In terms of inequality, the report found that the wealthiest 20per cent of family units accounted for 67.4 per cent of the totalnational net worth, although that was slightly lower than the 69.2per cent the top quintile possessed in 2005.

The lowest quintile the poorest 20 per cent of families had asmall negative net worth, meaning that as a group they had moredebts than assets.

That segment of the population saw its family median net worthdrop from about $1,300 in 1999 to $1,100 in 2012. By contrast, thetop quintile saw its family median net worth rise from $981,400 in2005 to $1.38 million in 2012.