Le patrimoine global au Canada en 2018 – Mesurer ce qui importe à long terme

The report argues that Canada's long-term prosperity is fragile, as its comprehensive wealth has grown significantly slower than its GDP. While Canada possesses high levels of natural capital, it faces risks from household debt, climate change, and an over-concentration of produced capital in housing and oil and gas infrastructure. The authors advocate for the official adoption of comprehensive wealth measurement to shift policy focus from short-term gains to long-term sustainability.

• Canada's comprehensive wealth portfolio grew at a much slower rate than its GDP between 1980 and 2015. While the average annual GDP growth rate was 1.31%, the comprehensive wealth portfolio grew by only 0.23% annually, increasing from $647,000 per capita in 1980 to $701,000 in 2015.
• Compared to other G7 nations, Canada has the highest level of comprehensive wealth per capita, largely due to its vast natural capital reserves. However, it has the lowest growth rate among the G7; UN estimates suggest Canada's comprehensive wealth actually decreased by an average of 0.25% per year between 1990 and 2014.
• Climate change is a major threat to Canada's wealth portfolio, with extreme weather events causing increasing damage. Insurance payouts for extreme weather have doubled every five to ten years since the 1980s, with the 2016 Fort McMurray forest fire resulting in $3.58 billion in insured property losses.
• Canada's produced capital has become dangerously concentrated in two sectors: housing and oil and gas extraction. In the commercial sector, assets related to oil and gas extraction rose from 9% of produced capital in 1980 to 25% in 2015.
• Human capital, the largest component of Canada's wealth (approximately 80%), stagnated between 1980 and 2015. The average Canadian held slightly less human capital in 2015 ($496,000) than in 1980 ($498,000).
• Marketable natural assets, including minerals and fossil fuels, decreased by 17% from 1980 to 2015. Additionally, the value of Canadian oil and gas assets dropped by 83% in 2015 following a decline in oil prices.
• Canadian household debt has reached unprecedented levels since 1980, with households shifting investments away from financial assets toward housing. This has forced the economy to rely on foreign lenders for nearly three-quarters of investment movements after 2012.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (2018). Le patrimoine global au Canada en 2018 – Mesurer ce qui importe à long terme. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/comprehensive-wealth-canada-2018-highlights-fr.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. Le patrimoine global au Canada en 2018 – Mesurer ce qui importe à long terme. 2018. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/comprehensive-wealth-canada-2018-highlights-fr.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=Le patrimoine global au Canada en 2018 – Mesurer ce qui importe à long terme |date=October 2018 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/comprehensive-wealth-canada-2018-highlights-fr.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopment2018patrimoine, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{Le patrimoine global au Canada en 2018 – Mesurer ce qui importe à long terme}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2018}, month = oct, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/comprehensive-wealth-canada-2018-highlights-fr.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }