Canada first quarter national balance sheet and financial flow accounts
- National net worth rose from $365,184 to $392,496 in Q1
- National net worth +7.7% q/q -- a record rise
- Residential real estate +9.4% q/q
- The seasonally adjusted household savings rate rose from 11.9% in the fourth quarter to 13.1% in the first quarter
- Canada Q1 capacity utilization 81.7% vs 80.5% expected
- Prior was 79.2%
- Federal government net debt to GDP 37.4% vs 37.9% prior
- Full report
How to get 17% richer? Have a pandemic. Since the start of 2020, Canadian households have added over $2 trillion in wealth to a record $13.7 trillion.
Non-financial assets represent +90% of national wealth in Canada, which is highly dependent on the ever-growing bubble in real estate.
The high savings rate and what happens after the pandemic is perhaps the single most important economic question right now. It's a common theme globally and leaves consumer balance sheets in very good shape. If it's spent, the knock-on effects would mean higher growth for an extended period.
Overall debt as a share of total assets is at 15.4%, the lowest since 2002.
