Comprehensive Wealth in Canada 2018 – Measuring What Matters in the Long Term

The report finds that Canada's development has been unsustainable for significant periods since 2008, as comprehensive wealth declined or grew on a fragile basis despite GDP growth. Key vulnerabilities include stagnant per capita human capital, produced capital concentrated in housing and oil and gas, and the physical depletion of most market natural assets. While financial capital grew recently due to foreign stock market gains, household debt has reached unprecedented levels, increasing financial fragility.

• Canada's development was on an unsustainable path during two distinct periods between 1980 and 2015: from 1988 to 1992 and from 2008 to 2012, characterized by steady declines in real comprehensive wealth per capita.
• Human capital, the largest component of Canada's comprehensive wealth (averaging 78% of the total), did not grow in real per capita terms between 1980 and 2015.
• Produced capital has become increasingly concentrated in housing and oil and gas extraction; by 2015, oil and gas extraction infrastructure accounted for 25% of all business sector-produced capital, up from 9% in 1980.
• Market natural assets declined by 17% in real per capita terms from 1980 to 2015, driven by the physical depletion of 15 out of 19 key natural resource assets.
• The value of Canada's oil and gas assets experienced a precipitous nominal decline of 83% in 2015 following a drop in oil prices, falling from $446 billion in 2014 to $89 billion in 2015.
• Canada's key ecosystems—forests, wetlands, grasslands, and lakes/rivers—have declined in physical extent and are increasingly impacted by human development.
• Climate variables show trends consistent with climate change: national precipitation increased by 18% and average temperatures increased by 1.8 degrees Celsius between 1948 and 2015.
• The growth in national comprehensive wealth from 2013 to 2015 was driven by atypical financial market trends, specifically gains in U.S. equities and a declining Canadian dollar, rather than increased foreign investment.
• Household debt has reached unprecedented levels, with the debt-to-disposable income ratio rising from 87% in 1990 to 166% in 2015.
• Since 1997, the Canadian household sector has shifted from being a net lender to a net borrower, with discretionary saving effectively ceasing.
• Social capital indicators remained generally stable between 2003 and 2013, though diversity in social networks showed a clear upward trend, increasing from 54% to 59%.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (2018). Comprehensive Wealth in Canada 2018 – Measuring What Matters in the Long Term. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/comprehensive-wealth-canada-2018.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. Comprehensive Wealth in Canada 2018 – Measuring What Matters in the Long Term. 2018. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/comprehensive-wealth-canada-2018.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=Comprehensive Wealth in Canada 2018 – Measuring What Matters in the Long Term |date=October 2018 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/comprehensive-wealth-canada-2018.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopment2018comprehensive, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{Comprehensive Wealth in Canada 2018 – Measuring What Matters in the Long Term}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2018}, month = oct, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/comprehensive-wealth-canada-2018.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }