Canadian households boost their wealth to another record high of $18.4 trillion with ‘supercharged’ financial asset growth

But household debt is ratcheting up again, according to Statistics Canada’s third quarter national balance sheet, released ThursdayYou can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.Canadian households increased their total wealth to another record high of $18.4 trillion in the third quarter of 2025, marking a two-year streak where net worth increased for eight consecutive quarters.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Household net worth swelled by 2.6 per cent (or $460.5 billion) since the second quarter of the year, the largest increase in collective household wealth since the first quarter of 2024, according to Statistics Canada’s latest national balance sheet, released Thursday.These gains were “supercharged” by “tremendous” growth in financial assets, said Toronto-Dominion Bank economist Maria Solovieva. Financial assets rose 4.8 per cent (or $532.4 billion) to $11.7 trillion in the third quarter, as equity markets rallied.Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of Top Stories will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againInterested in more newsletters? Browse here.The S&P/TSX composite index was up 11.8 per cent, while the S&P 500 index increased 7.8 per cent during the third quarter of 2025.Shelly Kaushik, senior economist and vice-president of economics at the Bank of Montreal, said a softer Canadian dollar also helped to raise the value of returns and assets denominated in foreign currencies.Statistics Canada said in its summary of its national balance sheet report that these gains were likely skewed by the wealthiest households, who hold nearly 70 per cent of all financial assets. Solovieva said affluent Canadians have the ability to invest in financial assets and reap bigger benefits from this growth compared with less wealthy households who have typically built their wealth through real estate.Non-financial assets (which include real estate holdings) dipped 0.3 per cent to about $10 trillion. This means the ratio of financial assets to non-financial assets reached its highest level (117.3 per cent) since the end of 2019, as financial assets continue to make up a much larger proportion of household wealth.Residential real estate assets fell 0.6 per cent to $8.5 trillion during the third quarter, despite an uptick in market activity.Kaushik said some homeowners may have seen the value of their real estate assets decline, depending on what part of the country they reside in. But in pockets of the country, some are still dealing with rising home prices, she added.“Buyers are still looking at very much a seller’s market because there’s still quite a bit of demand,” she said. “That is particularly the case in more affordable areas.”Housing affordability, measured by real estate as a percentage of household disposable income (488.1 per cent), waned for the sixth straight quarter, Statistics Canada said.Household liabilities (which include both mortgage and non-mortgage debt) also increased by 1.3 per cent in the third quarter of the year, though this only partially offset financial asset growth.Mortgage liabilities dropped to $23.4 billion in the third quarter of 2025, so this increase in household debt was driven by demand for non-mortgage debt (this includes loans and credit card debt) which increased to $10.1 billion. Consumer credit borrowing climbed for the second consecutive quarter to hit $7 billion, according to Statistics Canada.Solovieiva said stronger activity in auto sales or people taking on more auto debt may have contributed to increased non-mortgage debt. New auto loan volumes climbed 4.8 per cent compared to a year ago, while inflation-adjusted card spend inched up by just 1.6 per cent, according to a recent survey from Equifax Inc.Debt is also continuing to grow faster than income, with the ratio of household debt as a proportion of household disposable income increasing 0.4 per cent to 176.7 per cent in the third quarter of 2025. This equates to about $1.77 in household debt for every dollar of household disposable income, but is still lower than the $1.88 record high hit during the third quarter of 2022, according to Statistics Canada.Kaushik said the debt-to-income ratio has improved over the past couple of years, but is deteriorating again, possibly due to lower interest rates encouraging more consumer borrowing.“It’s not necessarily a position of concern for the overall financial health of the Canadian economy, but it is something to watch,” she said, adding that strong financial asset growth is providing a buffer.Kaushik said she was previously concerned about a weaker labour market putting downward pressure on household incomes, but noted the unemployment rate fell 0.4 per cent in November, according to Statistics Canada’s latest labour force survey.The question is whether the job market will improve from here and whether incomes can keep up with what is expected to be higher borrowing levels in the coming quarter, she said.Solovieva said higher debt-to-income ratios may include homeowners renewing their mortgages at higher interest rates, adding to their debt. “We will continue to see that into 2026 as (more) households’ mortgages are going through the renewal cycle.”Kaushik said despite falling interest rates over the past year, she expects the Bank of Canada has reached the end of its easing cycle for the foreseeable future, which could mean less borrowing relief for homebuyers.“We do expect the housing market to remain in this slow recovery mode,” she said. “It might not necessarily be declining every quarter, but (we expect it) to remain quite weak, at least for the coming few quarters.”But even if housing assets become a drag on net worth, Solovieva said she expects to see financial assets continue their upward trend in the next quarter unless there is a “significant pullback” in financial markets toward the end of the year.With Canadian households investing a higher concentration of their wealth in equities, Kaushik said any potential disruption in the stock market could be a cause for concern for future net worth gains.• Email: slouis@postmedia.comPostmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. 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