National balance sheet and financial flow accounts, fourth quarter 2024
Released: 2025-03-13
$19.1 trillion
Fourth quarter 2024
1.5% 
(quarterly change)
$40.0 billion
Fourth quarter 2024
$5.9 billion
(quarterly change)
$17.5 trillion
Fourth quarter 2024
1.4%
(quarterly change)
14.35%
Fourth quarter 2024
-0.20 
(quarterly change)
Household net worth rises as asset values buoyed by equities and foreign investments
Households were wealthier in the fourth quarter of 2024 as their net worth—the value of all assets minus all liabilities—increased $236.3 billion (+1.4%) to $17,495.0 billion. Household net worth rose in all four quarters of 2024, as households ended the year with nearly $1.2 trillion in additional wealth compared to the end of 2023. The gap in wealth between the wealthiest (top 20% of the wealth distribution) and the least wealthy (bottom 40% of the wealth distribution) was 61.4 percentage points in the third quarter of 2024, with the wealthiest households benefitting from stronger appreciation of their financial assets. Overall, 68.0% of financial assets were held by the top 20% of the wealth distribution.
Households' financial assets increased 2.0% (+$215.1 billion) in the fourth quarter of 2024 to reach $10,830.7 billion, the fifth consecutive quarter where households' financial assets attained a record high. Domestic equity markets rose at a slower pace in the fourth quarter as the S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 3.0% compared to an increase of 9.7% in the third quarter, but nonetheless outperformed the S&P 500 Index (+2.1%). A sharply depreciating Canadian dollar also boosted the value of households' foreign investment holdings, either directly held or held through a financial vehicle such as a pension. Weighing against asset gains, household financial liabilities, composed primarily of mortgage and non-mortgage debt, increased $35.8 billion (+1.2%) in the fourth quarter.
After declining in the third quarter, the value of non-financial assets increased to $9,745.4 billion in the fourth quarter, largely due to a rise in the value of residential real estate (+0.6%).
Highlights
During the fourth quarter of 2024, the Canadian economy grew 0.6% on a real and seasonally adjusted basis, driven by higher household consumption, exports, and business investment, but hindered by inventory drawdowns. On a per capita basis, real gross domestic product (GDP) rose 0.2% in the fourth quarter.
The Bank of Canada initiated monetary policy easing in 2024, announcing five consecutive decreases in the policy interest rate, with a combined 100 basis point decrease occurring in the fourth quarter alone. The target rate ended the year at 3.25%, well below the 5.00% at which it began. Lower mortgage rates and improved consumer confidence stimulated growing mortgage demand while the value of resale home sales rose 8.5% in 2024. Canadian household credit market debt crossed the three trillion-dollar threshold for the first time in the fourth quarter.
Growth in Canadian equities outperformed those in America in the third and fourth quarters of 2024 while the Canadian dollar traded sharply lower vis-à-vis the US dollar by the end of the fourth quarter. Canada's net foreign asset position increased in the fourth quarter of 2024, the fifth consecutive increase, partly fuelled by the weaker dollar. Additionally, general government net borrowing persisted in the fourth quarter, albeit at a slower pace, as the ratio of net debt to GDP remained relatively stable throughout 2024.
Household saving rate slows while investment activity remains strong
The household saving rate (seasonally adjusted) declined to 6.1% in the fourth quarter of 2024, down from the three-year high of 7.3% in the third quarter, as the rise in household spending (+2.1%) outpaced disposable income gains (+1.1%). However, households' net acquisitions of mutual fund shares (which includes reinvested earnings) reached $52.6 billion in the fourth quarter, the largest investment inflow since the fourth quarter of 2021 and more than double the $24.1 billion inflow from the third quarter of 2024. Overall, net investment in mutual fund shares reached $107.6 billion in 2024, marking it as the strongest year since 2021. Households added $16.9 billion in Canadian currency and deposits during the fourth quarter, bringing the annual total to $66.2 billion in 2024, well below that of 2023 (+$115.5 billion).
Residential real estate edges up as market activity picks up
Following a 3.1% increase in the first quarter of 2024, households recorded a gradual decline in the value of their residential real estate holdings over the middle two quarters of the year (-1.1%). By the end of the fourth quarter, the value of residential real estate had regained some lost ground, rising 0.6% to $8,350.0 billion.
The average resale price in the fourth quarter was just above $700,000, almost $30,000 higher than the previous quarter. Higher prices in the fourth quarter were paired with increased sales activity, as the number of resales rose 9.5% from the third quarter on a seasonally adjusted basis. In total, the value of resales in 2024 was 8.5% greater than in 2023, primarily the result of greater sales volumes. Real estate as a percentage of household disposable income continued its downward trend, falling under 500% for the first time since the end of 2020.
Seasonally adjusted household credit market borrowing continues to climb
In the fourth quarter of 2024, the pace of household credit market borrowing (seasonally adjusted) rose to $40.0 billion, up for the third consecutive quarter and the highest level of borrowing since the second quarter of 2022. The growing demand for debt was largely a result of elevated mortgage borrowing, up $5.3 billion from the third quarter to $29.0 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024; this was the greatest demand for mortgage funds since the third quarter of 2022. Demand for non-mortgage loans and consumer credit was a robust $37.9 billion in 2024 compared with $23.6 billion in 2023, pushed higher in 2024 by growing credit card balances and the financing needs of unincorporated businesses. Overall, households borrowed 31.8% more in 2024 than in 2023, although the amount borrowed was 28.2% less than in 2022.
Chart 1
Household credit market debt, seasonally adjusted flows
Debt burden edges up on higher debt levels and slower income growth
Resilient household borrowing pushed the seasonally adjusted stock of household credit market debt (consumer credit, and mortgage and non-mortgage loans) 1.3% higher to reach $3,035.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024, surpassing the $3 trillion mark for the first time.
Households' debt burden worsened slightly in the fourth quarter of 2024, as the ratio of household credit market debt as a proportion of household disposable income rose for the first time in seven quarters, edging up to 172.8%. Debt levels rose at a faster pace than income in the fourth quarter while income nearly doubled the pace of debt for the year overall. In other words, there was $1.73 in credit market debt for every dollar of household disposable income in the fourth quarter, which was below the $1.79 recorded at the start of 2024. At the same time, household leverage, as measured by debt to total assets, dipped below 15%.
Chart 2
Household credit market debt to household disposable income, seasonally adjusted
Household debt service ratio continues to ease on lower interest rates
The household debt service ratio—measured as total obligated payments of principal and interest on credit market debt as a proportion of household disposable income—decreased to 14.35% in the fourth quarter from 14.55% in the third quarter of 2024. In the fourth quarter, debt payments (-0.6%) declined for a second consecutive quarter while disposable income rose (+0.8%), albeit at the slowest pace since the first quarter of 2023. The household debt service ratio fell from 15.11% at the end of 2023 to 14.35% at the end of 2024, the largest annual decline since 2020.
Chart 3
Household debt service ratio
Federal government demand for funds edges down
The federal government's demand for funds—defined as the net issuance of treasuries and bonds and new borrowing less repayments of loans—was $21.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024, down from $25.2 billion in the third quarter. This pushed the federal government's overall demand for funds to $103.9 billion in 2024, compared with $62.6 billion in 2023. The effective interest rate on federal government debt, which refers to the interest paid on interest bearing instruments, eased 0.4 percentage points to 2.92% (annual rates). Meanwhile, non-resident purchases of federal government debt securities, over half in the form of bonds, jumped in the fourth quarter (+$45.3 billion), marking the strongest quarter on record.
The federal government's net financial liabilities as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) edged up to 32.7% in the fourth quarter while the ratio for other levels of government climbed to 16.9% from 16.0% in the third quarter. Total general government gross debt per capita reached $93,705 in the fourth quarter of 2024; by comparison, nominal GDP per capita stood at $75,595.
Chart 4
Government net financial liabilities as a percentage of gross domestic product
Bond issuances fuel private non-financial corporation borrowing
Private non-financial corporations' demand for funds fell from $35.5 billion in the third quarter to $5.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024, the largest decrease since the first quarter of 2022. Borrowing, which was mostly in the form of bond issuances (+$11.9 billion) and mortgage loans (+$6.3 billion), was offset by net repayments on non-mortgage loans and listed share redemptions.
Chart 5
Demand for funds by private non-financial corporations
In the fourth quarter of 2024, credit market debt of private non-financial corporations as a proportion of equity reached its highest level (59.3%) since the first quarter of 2009, while listed share redemptions (-$7.7 billion) persisted for the 12th consecutive quarter, reflecting a shift in the financing structure of non-financial corporations. Meanwhile, the ratio of private non-financial corporation credit market debt to GDP edged up to 72.25% in the fourth quarter as overall credit market debt reached $2,217.4 billion. The effective interest rate on interest-bearing debt lessened in the fourth quarter, falling to 4.00% (annual rates).
In 2024, private non-financial corporations recorded the largest amount of net bond issuances in Canadian history (+$68.1 billion). Relative to the size of the economy, 2024 marked the second largest proportion of net bond issuances, surpassed only by 2001.
Chart 6
Domestic demand for funds by instrument
National net worth rebounds on the strength of international investments
National net worth, the sum of national wealth and Canada's net foreign asset position, rose 1.5% in the fourth quarter of 2024 to $19,142.4 billion, primarily due to an improvement in Canada's international investment position (+9.1%). The increase largely reflected the Canadian dollar depreciating relative to the US dollar, which bolstered the value of Canada's international assets by more than its international liabilities. Canada's international investment position increased for the fifth consecutive quarter to reach $1,994.6 billion at the end of the fourth quarter, $570.8 billion higher than at the start of 2024.
The total value of non-financial assets in Canada, also referred to as national wealth, rose 0.7% in the fourth quarter to $17,147.8 billion, ending 2024 nearly $400 billion higher than at the start of the year.
Chart 7
Change in national net worth by component
Focus on Canada and the United States
Canada is a nation rich in natural resources. In the fourth quarter of 2024, Canada's natural resource wealth, comprised of mineral and energy reserves and timber, combined to account for nearly $1.3 trillion. This represented 7.5% of Canada's national wealth. In 2023, according to Statistics Canada's release of the Natural Resource Asset Account, the largest components of Canada's natural resource wealth relating to energy were crude bitumen, crude oil and natural gas and bituminous coal. Meanwhile, potash, gold and iron reserves were the largest contributors to Canada's mineral wealth.
Canadian exports of minerals, energy and timber represent a key contributor to the Canadian economy and the economic activity of other countries who benefit from this trade, including the United States. In 2024, data on Canadian international merchandise trade showed that selected domestic exports of minerals, energy and timber products accounted for over $300 billion, with nearly three-quarters of this destined for the United States (on a customs basis). Over the year, 87.3% of Canada's total exports of energy products (excluding electricity) went to the United States, making up 28.2% of all Canadian exports to the United States, while slightly over half of Canadian potash exports were delivered to the United States.
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Note to readers
Revisions
This release of the national balance sheet and financial flow accounts for the fourth quarter of 2024, includes revised estimates for the first to the third quarter of 2024. These data incorporate new and revised data, as well as updated data on seasonal trends.
Data enhancements to the national balance sheet and financial flow accounts, such as the development of detailed counterparty information by sector, will be incorporated on an ongoing basis. To facilitate this initiative as well as others, it is necessary to extend the annual revision period (normally the previous three years) at the time of the third quarter release.
Details on recent revisions to the national balance sheet and financial flow accounts published in the third quarter are available in "An overview of the revisions to the Financial and Wealth Accounts, 2020 to 2024."
General
Unless otherwise stated, growth rates represent the percentage change in the series from one quarter to the next; for instance, from the third quarter to the fourth quarter of 2024.
Unless otherwise stated, distributional information from the Distributions of Household Economic Accounts program is from the previous quarter. For this fourth quarter release of the national balance sheet and financial flow accounts, that would be the third quarter of 2024.
Unless otherwise stated, this release presents data unadjusted for seasonality.
Support measures by governments
Details on some of the more significant federal government COVID-19 pandemic support measures are available in table 36-10-0687: Federal government COVID-19 support measures in the System of Macroeconomic Accounts, quarterly.
Financial and wealth accounts on a from-whom-to-whom basis: Selected financial instruments
The data visualization product "Financial accounts on a from-whom-to-whom basis, selected financial instruments" has been updated with data from the first quarter of 2024 to the fourth quarter of 2024. Additionally, the entire from-whom-to-whom data set can now be easily downloaded by navigating to the Notes tab and selecting the desired file under the Data heading.
Accounting for First Nations settlements
As of this release, the national balance sheet and financial flow accounts reflect payments from Indigenous general governments to households made as part of the Robinson Huron Treaty settlement. A portion of these funds has been recorded as disbursements to individual members of the 21 First Nations in the third and fourth quarters of 2024. These transactions also impacted the financial assets of Indigenous governments. This draw down in assets from the government and corresponding transfer to households, along with the corresponding impact on household disposable income and savings, may be revised as additional information becomes available.
Next release
Data on the national balance sheet and financial flow accounts for the first quarter of 2025 will be released on June 12.
Overview of the financial and wealth accounts
This release of the financial and wealth accounts comprises the national balance sheet accounts (NBSA), the financial flow accounts (FFA), and the other changes in assets account.
The NBSA are composed of the balance sheets of all sectors and subsectors of the economy. The main sectors are households, non-profit institutions serving households, financial corporations, non-financial corporations, government, and non-residents. The NBSA cover all national non-financial assets and all financial asset-liability claims outstanding in all sectors. To improve the interpretability of financial flows data, selected household borrowing series are available on a seasonally adjusted basis (table 38-10-0238-01). All other data are unadjusted for seasonal variation. For information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions.
The FFA articulate net lending or borrowing activity by sector by measuring financial transactions in the economy. The FFA arrive at a measure of net financial investment, which is the difference between transactions in financial assets and liabilities (for example, net purchases of securities less net issuances of securities). The FFA also provide the link between financial and non-financial activity in the economy, which ties estimates of saving and non-financial capital acquisition (for example, investment in new housing) to the underlying financial transactions.
While the FFA record changes in financial assets and liabilities between opening and closing balance sheets that are associated with transactions during the accounting period, the value of assets and liabilities held by an institution can also change for other reasons. These other types of changes, referred to as other economic flows, are recorded in the other changes in assets account.
There are two main components to this account. One is the other changes in the volume of assets account. This account includes changes in non-financial and financial assets and liabilities relating to the economic appearance and disappearance of assets, the effects of external events such as wars or catastrophes on the value of assets, and changes in the classification and structure of assets. The other main component is the revaluation account, showing holding gains or losses accruing to the owners of non-financial and financial assets and liabilities during the accounting period as a result of changes in market price valuations.
At present, only the aggregate other change in assets is available within the Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts; no details are available on the different components.
Definitions concerning financial indicators can be found in "Financial indicators from the National Balance Sheet Accounts" and in the Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts glossary.
Distributions of household economic accounts
The NBSA for the household sector is allocated across a number of socioeconomic dimensions as part of the distributions of household economic accounts. Data on wealth and its components by income quintile, age group, generation and region are available in tables 36-10-0585-01, 36-10-0586-01, 36-10-0589-01, and 36-10-0590-01.
The methodology for Distributions of household economic accounts wealth estimates can be found in the article "Distributions of Household Economic Accounts, estimates of asset, liability and net worth distributions, 2010 to 2023, technical methodology and quality report."
Products
The document, "An overview of the revisions to the Financial and Wealth Accounts, 2020 to 2024," which is part of Latest Developments in the Canadian Economic Accounts (13-605-X), is available.
The data visualization product "Financial accounts on a from-whom-to-whom basis, selected financial instruments," which is part of Statistics Canada – Data Visualization Products (71-607-X), is now available.
As a complement to this release, you can also consult the data visualization product "Distributions of Household Economic Accounts, Wealth: Interactive tool," which is part of Statistics Canada – Data Visualization Products (71-607-X).
As a complement to this release, you can also consult the data visualization product "Securities statistics," which is part of Statistics Canada – Data Visualization Products (71-607-X).
The Economic accounts statistics portal, accessible from the Subjects module of the Statistics Canada website, features an up-to-date portrait of national and provincial economies and their structure.
The User Guide: Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts (13-606-G) is available.
The Methodological Guide: Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts (13-607-X) is available.
The Canada: Economic and Financial Data - International Monetary Fund's Special Data Dissemination Standard Plus product (13-608-X), "Other Financial Corporations Survey," also known as "Assets and liabilities of other financial corporations by sector, market value, quarterly" (table 36-10-0668-01), are available.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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