Market performance and government transfers boosted median income
Canadian seniors’ investments played a key role in boosting their after-tax income in the most recent year analyzed by Statistics Canada.
The agency’s 2023 Income Survey was released Thursday and reveals that the median after-tax income for senior families was up 3.4% year-over-year to $79,700 while unattached seniors fared even better with a 4.3% increase to $36,400.
The main driver of the increase was market performance, up 5% to $52,100 for senior families and up 9.3% for single seniors to $16,500. Government transfers rose by a more modest 1.4% to $36,200 for families and by 3.2% to $22,900 for singles.
By contrast, median market income across all Canadian families and unattached individuals was $68,700 in 2023, a 1.5% increase from 2022. Government transfers were $10,000, down $500 year-over-year. Total income median after-tax income of Canadian families and unattached individuals was $74,200 in 2023, increasing 1.2% from 2022.
All figures are adjusted for inflation.
Older Canadians (aged 65+) also saw a lower poverty rate in 2023 at 5% (down from 6% in 2022) compared to 11.6% among those aged 18-64 (up from 11.1% in 2022) and for under 18s at 10.7% (relatively unchanged from 2022).
Poverty rates were also higher for racialized groups (14%) and Indigenous populations (17.5%) although people with a disability were less likely to be in poverty than pre-pandemic although the rate is still higher than the general population at 12%.
In 2023, Alberta ($88,500) and Ontario ($78,600) recorded the highest median after-tax income for families and individuals among the provinces, while Nova Scotia ($62,900) and New Brunswick ($62,700) had the lowest. Among the territories, the Northwest Territories led with $102,100, followed by Nunavut at $90,800 and Yukon at $84,500.
These income figures do not reflect regional differences such as cost of living or demographic composition.
During the same year, median after-tax income rose in Nova Scotia (+3.5%), Alberta (+2.9%), and Ontario (+1.4%), but declined in Saskatchewan (-2.8%). It remained largely stable in the remaining provinces and territories.
