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

The report finds that while Canada's GDP has grown, its comprehensive wealth—comprising produced, natural, human, financial, and social capital—has grown much more slowly and shows signs of fragility. Key concerns include a lack of growth in human capital, the depletion of market natural assets, and an increasing concentration of produced capital in housing and oil and gas infrastructure. The document advocates for the regular measurement of comprehensive wealth by Statistics Canada to better guide long-term policy decisions and address threats like climate change.

• Canada's comprehensive wealth grew at a significantly slower rate than its GDP between 1980 and 2015. While GDP grew at an annual average rate of 1.31 per cent, comprehensive wealth per capita grew by only 0.23 per cent annually, increasing from $647,000 to $701,000.
• Compared to other G7 nations, Canada has the highest level of comprehensive wealth per capita, largely due to its natural capital reserves, but it has the worst growth performance. UN estimates indicate Canada's comprehensive wealth actually declined by 0.25 per cent annually between 1990 and 2014.
• Canada's produced capital has become heavily concentrated in two sectors: housing and oil and gas extraction infrastructure. By 2015, oil and gas extraction assets accounted for 25 per cent of all business-sector produced capital, up from 9 per cent in 1980.
• Human capital, the largest component of Canada's wealth (approximately 80 per cent), showed no growth from 1980 to 2015, with per capita values remaining nearly stagnant at around $495,000 to $496,000.
• Market natural assets, including minerals and fossil fuels, declined by 17 per cent between 1980 and 2015 due to resource depletion. Additionally, the value of oil and gas assets dropped by 83 per cent in 2015 following a decline in oil prices.
• Climate change is a major threat to Canada's wealth portfolio, with extreme weather events causing increasing financial losses. Insurance payouts for extreme weather have doubled every five to ten years since the 1980s, with the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire causing $3.58 billion in insured property losses.
• Since 1997, Canadian households have shifted investments away from financial assets toward housing and have relied more on foreign lenders, with non-residents providing nearly three quarters of investment flows after 2012.

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-highlights-en.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-highlights-en.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-highlights-en.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-highlights-en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }