The evidence is strong that income inequality contributes to social and economic instability (Equality Trust, 2023).
From the World Inequality report
"In Canada, the average national income of the adult population is €PPP38,000 (CAD65,590. While the bottom 50% earns €PPP12,000 (CAD20,440), the top 10% earns on average 13 times more (€PPP156,000 or CAD266,950). Canada is a country with high levels of inequality, midway between the US and Europe. The ratio between the incomes of the top 10% and the bottom 50% is equal to 13, compared with nine for the European Union and 17 for the US. While the average Canadian earns 30% more than the average citizen of the European Union (in purchasing parity terms), the poorest half of Canadians earn 85% less than the poorest half of Western Europeans.
Income inequality in the long run
Income inequality in Canada has been rising significantly over the past 40 years. In 1980, the top 10% income share was close to 35% and the bottom 50% captured almost 20% of national income. Inequality in Canada dropped after the Second World War and was maintained at low levels from the 1950 to the 1980s thanks to a mix of capital control and social policies, in a context of high economic growth. Since the 1980s, financialization, deregulation and lower taxes contributed to rising inequalities, though the rise was not as fast as in the US.
A wealthy country, with high levels of wealth inequality
Canada is a wealthy country, with a per capita wealth of €PPP212,000 (CAD377,680). The bottom 50% holds on average €PPP25,700 (CAD43,950), and these figures rise to €PPP202,000 (CAD914,110) and €PPP1,273,000 (CAD5,602,434) for the middle 40% and top 10%, respectively. This is comparable with Western European countries such as France (respectively, 22,300, 203,000 and 1,356,000 €PPP). Since the mid-1990s, wealth inequality levels have remained relatively stable in the country with the shares of the bottom 50%, middle 40% and top 10% equal to around 6%, 37% and 67% respectively.
Gender inequalities in Canada
In Canada, the female labor income share is 38%. This share is slightly lower than in the US (39%). It is higher than the average in sub-Saharan Africa (28%), Asia (21%, excluding China) and Western Europe (38%), but lower than in Eastern Europe (41%). The growth of the female labor income share has been moderate since 1991 (+ 4 p.p.).
Carbon Inequality in Canada
Canada is one of the highest emitters in the world in per capita terms. Average per capita emissions are equal to 19.4 tCO2e. This is lower than in the US (21 tCO2e) but much higher than in Germany (11) and China (8). Since 1990, emissions have decreased by 3.1 tonnes of carbon per person. While the bottom 50% and middle 40% have reduced their emissions by 3.5 and 4.5 tonnes respectively per person, emissions of the top 10% have increased by around 4 tonnes per person. Canada’s official objective is to reach 12.3 tCO2e/capita by 2030. To reduce their carbon footprint to this level, the top 10% and the middle 40% will have to reduce emissions by around 48 and eight tonnes per person, respectively."
From: , , & (2023). 1845 or 2023? Friedrich Engels’s insights into the health effects of Victorian-era and contemporary Canadian capitalism. Sociology of Health & Illness, 1– 25.
Carroll and Sapinski (2018) state:Canada is ruled by an organised minority of the 1%, a class of corporate owners, managers and bankers who amass wealth by controlling the large corporations at the core of the economy...More recently, capitalist globalisation and the consolidation of a market-driven neoliberal regime have dramatically enhanced corporate power while exacerbating social and economic inequalities. The result is our current oligarchic order, where power is concentrated in a few corporations that are controlled by the super-wealthy and organised into a cohesive corporate elite. Carroll, W. K., & Sapinski, J. P. (2018). Organizing the 1%: How corporate power works. Fernwood Publishing.
"Over the last 30 years, income for the bottom 60% of Canadians stagnated, while the top 20%’s incomes grew by 40% (Curry-Stevens, 2016)" Curry-Stevens, A. (2016). Precarious changes: A generational exploration of Canadian incomes and wealth. In D. Raphael (Ed.), Social determinants of health: Canadian perspectives (3 rd ed., pp. 60–89). Canadian Scholars’ Press
‘(T)he top one percent’s share of (family) net wealth in Canada has increased by approximately 5% points over the period of 1999–2019...the top one percent’s share of family net wealth in Canada is 24.8%, whereas the bottom 40% of families own 1.1% of total wealth in 2019’ (Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer, 2021, p. 3). Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer. (2021). Estimating the top tail of the family wealth distribution in Canada: Updates and trends. Available at: https://distribution-a617274656661637473.pbo-dpb.ca/20de98f-c3f4d93c5213f8d71fbe7cd89ae69cb1899e9cbf2d3ca4d57f18ab25a.
10.4% of Canadians work at minimum wage levels, 19.5% are low wage workers (less than ⅔ median wage) amongst the highest in the OECD
‘Greater macroeconomic, political and social instability is therefore a likely implication of more inequality over time’ (p. 227). Osberg, L. (2016). What’s so bad about increasing inequality in Canada? In D. A. Green, W. C. Riddell, & F. St-Hilaire (Eds.), Income inequality: The Canadian story (pp. 225–269). Institute for Research on Public Policy.
Statistics Canada (2022a) : ‘Social unrest has been linked to income inequality. In March and April 2020, 40% of Canadians were very or extremely concerned about the possibility of civil disorder.’ Statistics Canada (2022a). COVID-19 in Canada: A two-year update on social and economic impacts. Available at: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-631-x/11-631-x2022001-eng.htm.
Addressing executive compensation
