Income Trends Among High-Income Canadians in 2022

Statistics Canada has released data on the income of high-income Canadians for the year 2022. The average total income for the top 1% of tax filers was $586,900, reflecting a decrease of 5.1% from the previous year. This decline is attributed to the reduction of COVID-19 pandemic-related government benefits and an inflation rate of 6.8%, the highest in 40 years.

The report highlights that the income decrease was more pronounced among the top 0.1% and 0.01% of tax filers, with reductions of 6.9% and 9.9% respectively. Despite these declines, income levels in 2022 remained higher than pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

The data also shows that the average income for the bottom 50% of tax filers decreased by 7.6% to $20,800. Across provinces, most saw a decrease in average income for the top 1%, except for the three territories and New Brunswick. In these regions, while average incomes increased, wages and salaries decreased, indicating that income gains were from non-wage sources.

Women in the top 0.1% experienced income gains from non-market sources, despite a fall in wage and salary income. Their income from dividends, limited partnerships, rental income, and investments increased by 22.9%.

The report also notes that dividend income for the highest income groups increased at a slower rate in 2022 compared to 2021. Capital gains for these groups decreased significantly, with the top 1% experiencing a 30.3% reduction.

The composition of top income groups changes over time, with many tax filers moving in and out of these categories. In 2022, 69.1% of those in the top 1% were in the same group in 2021, but less than half were there in 2017.