An IMGW News Report
Canada is in the throes of an unprecedented shift in private wealth. Over the next few years, an estimated C$1 trillion will change hands as baby boomers pass their accumulated fortunes to their millennial and Generation X heirs. This generational shift, the largest in the country’s history, is set to reshape housing markets, deepen wealth disparities, and spark fresh debate on taxation.
“Not all Canadians will benefit. Indigenous communities, long excluded from property ownership due to colonial policies, have little generational wealth to pass down.”
A large portion of this windfall is tied to real estate. Canada’s housing boom, particularly in cities such as Toronto and Vancouver, has created a class of homeowners who have seen the value of their properties soar. As they bequeath these gains to their children, the wealth transfer is fuelling further property purchases. According to CIBC, 31% of first-time homebuyers in 2024 relied on family assistance—up from 20% in 2015—with the average parental gift reaching C$115,000.
“Unlike other G7 countries, Canada lacks an inheritance tax—a policy decision that has allowed vast wealth transfers to occur untaxed.”
Keith Willoughby of the Edwards School of Business at the University of Saskatchewan describes this phenomenon as a “trillion-dollar tsunami,” arguing that it will exacerbate existing economic inequalities. A 2023 Statistics Canada report found that millennials whose parents were homeowners were twice as likely to own property themselves, widening the gap between those who inherit wealth and those who do not.
The trend is particularly stark in rural Canada. In Saskatchewan, the average farm is now valued at over C$3 million. The sharp rise in land prices has turned family farms into major assets, forcing difficult decisions on succession. For previous generations, farming was a struggle; today, it is a question of how to divide newly realised wealth.
Not all Canadians will benefit. Indigenous communities, long excluded from property ownership due to colonial policies, have little generational wealth to pass down. “We don’t have a boomer generation leaving us assets,” says Jason Bird of First Nations University. Instead, he argues, wealth in Indigenous communities is measured by the ability to share and support others.
Some recipients of this windfall are choosing to give rather than accumulate. Philanthropy is rising, with initiatives like the South Saskatchewan Community Foundation channelling inherited wealth into charitable causes. Others, like University of Saskatchewan medical student Jess Klaassen, are exploring ways to redistribute their newfound affluence.
Unlike other G7 countries, Canada lacks an inheritance tax—a policy decision that has allowed vast wealth transfers to occur untaxed. Willoughby suggests the government could study international models to assess whether taxing inheritances might temper the growing disparity. For now, however, this trillion-dollar redistribution remains largely unchecked, reinforcing financial divides that have been decades in the making.
