LE PATRIMOINE COMPRÉHENSIF AU CANADA - MESURER CE QUI IMPORTE À LONG TERME

This executive summary, published by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) in December 2016, argues that Canada must move beyond Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to measure 'comprehensive wealth' to ensure long-term sustainable development. Analyzing data from 1980 to 2013, the study finds that while Canada remains wealthy, its comprehensive wealth growth is slow and heavily reliant on the depletion of natural capital and a highly concentrated produced capital sector.

• Between 1980 and 2013, Canada's comprehensive wealth per person grew by only 7% in absolute terms, representing an annualized growth rate of 0.19%. This slow growth in the nation's capacity to generate goods and services contrasts sharply with a 54% increase in individual average consumption over the same period.
• Canada's natural capital per person declined by 25% between 1980 and 2013 due to physical depletion and changing market conditions affecting minerals, fossil fuels, timber, and agricultural land. Non-monetary indicators further show declines in forest areas, wetlands, and glacier mass, alongside an increase in national temperatures and precipitation between 1948 and 2014.
• Produced capital grew by 73% per person (1.68% annually) from 1980 to 2013, making it the strongest component of the portfolio. However, this growth is highly concentrated, with approximately 70% driven by only two sectors: housing and oil and gas extraction.
• Human capital, which constitutes 80% of Canada's comprehensive wealth, showed 0% growth between 1980 and 2013. This indicates that despite higher education levels, the average Canadian worker's lifetime earning potential remained stagnant over these 33 years.
• Social capital was measured qualitatively and found to be stable but not growing. While diversity in social networks increased between 2003 and 2013, other indicators of trust and cooperation showed no consistent upward trend.
• According to United Nations data, Canada ranks first among G7 nations for the level of comprehensive wealth per person, largely due to its natural capital reserves. However, it ranks last among the G7 in terms of the growth rate of that wealth.
• The report recommends that the federal government fund Statistics Canada to regularly report on comprehensive wealth measures, similar to GDP reporting cycles, to guide the diversification of the economy away from fossil fuel reliance.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (2016). LE PATRIMOINE COMPRÉHENSIF AU CANADA - MESURER CE QUI IMPORTE À LONG TERME. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/comprehensive-wealth-highlights-fr.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. LE PATRIMOINE COMPRÉHENSIF AU CANADA - MESURER CE QUI IMPORTE À LONG TERME. 2016. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/comprehensive-wealth-highlights-fr.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=LE PATRIMOINE COMPRÉHENSIF AU CANADA - MESURER CE QUI IMPORTE À LONG TERME |date=December 2016 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/comprehensive-wealth-highlights-fr.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopment2016patrimoine, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{LE PATRIMOINE COMPRÉHENSIF AU CANADA - MESURER CE QUI IMPORTE À LONG TERME}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2016}, month = dec, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/comprehensive-wealth-highlights-fr.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }