Report

A Distributional Analysis of the Purchasing Power of Canadian Households Since 2019

Oct 8, 2024

To study the discrepancies in the evolution of the purchasing power of Canadian households, this report provides a distributional analysis of inflation and Canadian household incomes since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our analysis also includes a snapshot of purchasing power at the provincial and territorial level.

Highlights

In the first quarters of the COVID 19 pandemic, prices rose well below the Bank of Canada’s 2% inflation target, while household incomes were supported by government transfers, leading to improved purchasing power for all income quintiles.
The purchasing power of most households was higher in the first quarter of 2024 than in the last quarter of 2019. However, since 2022, rising inflation and tighter monetary policy have eroded purchasing power, particularly among lower-income households.
Due to the composition of their family wealth, the investment income of households in the highest quintile grew faster than their interest payments. Because this net increase in income outpaced inflation, the average purchasing power of these households improved in 2023.
For households in the other income quintiles, interest payment increases were higher on average than investment income payments in 2023. As a result, the average purchasing power of households in the third and fourth quintiles stagnated, while it deteriorated for the two lowest quintiles.
Purchasing power trends varied from province to province. Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia are among the provinces that saw an increase in purchasing power, while Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Alberta saw a decline. For these provinces, inflation offset the increase in disposable income. As for the territories, purchasing power for all households was among the highest in Canada since the last quarter of 2019.