Income Inequality Surged Under Harper

Just as Conservatives gathered to elect a new leader, Statistics Canada released income data for 2015. These allow us to look at trends under the full term of the Harper Government from 2006 to 2015.

Average after tax income of economic families rose over this period – from $68,200 to $76,900 in inflation-adjusted dollars. But the gains were very unfairly distributed.

The after tax income share of the top 10% of families and persons rose from 27.2% to 27.7% and that of the next 10% rose from 16.7% to 17.0%. Thus the share of income of the top 20% rose by almost one full percentage point from 43.9% to 44.7%. The share of the all income groups in the bottom 80% fell under Harper.

The poverty rate (low income measure after tax) under Harper rose from 13.4% to 14.2%, mainly because of a big jump in the low income rate for the elderly which rose from 10.2% to 14.3%.

Data from CANSIM 206-0041 and 206-0011.