COMPREHENSIVE WEALTH IN CANADA

The report finds that Canada's comprehensive wealth grew by only 0.19% annually from 1980 to 2013, significantly lagging behind real per capita consumption growth of 1.36%. While produced capital grew by 1.68% annually, this was heavily concentrated in housing and oil and gas extraction. Conversely, market natural capital declined by 0.93% annually, and human capital—the largest component of wealth—remained flat. The authors argue that this divergence suggests underinvestment in the asset base and a risky reliance on natural resource depletion, recommending that Statistics Canada begin regular reporting of comprehensive wealth to guide sustainable policy.

• Canada's comprehensive wealth grew by 7% in real per capita terms between 1980 and 2013, representing a lacklustre annualized growth rate of 0.19%.
• Real per capita consumption grew at an annual rate of 1.36% (54% total) from 1980 to 2013, creating a gap between consumption and the growth of the asset base that suggests potential long-term sustainability concerns.
• Human capital is the largest component of Canada's comprehensive wealth, accounting for 80% on average, yet it showed 0% growth in real per capita terms from 1980 to 2013.
• Market natural capital declined by 25% per capita between 1980 and 2013, with an annual decline rate of 0.93%.
• Produced capital grew by 73% per person (1.68% annually) from 1980 to 2013, but this growth was highly concentrated, with 70% attributed to housing and the oil and gas extraction industry.
• The oil and gas extraction industry's share of business-sector produced capital increased from approximately 9% in 1980 to 28% by 2013.
• Non-monetary indicators suggest that non-market natural capital has declined, with forest area decreasing slightly between 2000 and 2011 and wetlands declining in most parts of the country.
• Climate indicators show trends consistent with climate change predictions, including an overall national increase in temperature and precipitation from 1948 to 2014, and declines in annual average snow cover (1972-2011), glacier mass (1960-2007), and sea ice extent (1968-2010).
• Social capital appears stable but not growing, with only 'Diversity in Social Networks' showing a strong, consistent upward trend between 2003 and 2013.
• Canada's productivity growth from 1980 to 2013 was only 0.11% annually, which is insufficient to explain the divergence between consumption growth and comprehensive wealth growth.
• The nominal value of Canada's market natural capital fell by 75% between the first quarter of 2014 and the fourth quarter of 2015, primarily due to the drop in global oil prices.
• Compared to G7 nations, Canada ranks first in the level of comprehensive wealth per capita but last in terms of the growth of that wealth.
• Canada's greenhouse gas productivity ranked 31st out of 34 OECD member states in 2013, and its environmental taxes as a share of national tax revenue ranked second last among OECD members.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (2016). COMPREHENSIVE WEALTH IN CANADA. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/comprehensive-wealth-full-report-web.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. COMPREHENSIVE WEALTH IN CANADA. 2016. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/comprehensive-wealth-full-report-web.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=COMPREHENSIVE WEALTH IN CANADA |date=December 2016 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/comprehensive-wealth-full-report-web.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopment2016comprehensive, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{COMPREHENSIVE WEALTH IN CANADA}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2016}, month = dec, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/comprehensive-wealth-full-report-web.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }