Household net worth eclipsed the $17 trillion mark for the first time, with financial assets setting a record high of $10.1 trillion in the second quarter, according to Statistics Canada.
The agency’s latest national balance sheet, released Thursday, showed household net worth inched up 0.25 per cent from the first quarter, slower than the previous quarter’s gain of 3.59 per cent.
Carrie Freestone, economist at the Royal Bank of Canada, noted big gains in financial assets in the life insurance and pension category (up 1.22 per cent) and currencies and deposits (up 1.26 per cent) as drivers.
Freestone said that while Canadian equity markets declined, there was substantial growth in the United States, with the S&P 500 index growing 3.9 per cent during the second quarter, contributing to gains in financial assets. The household
