High interest rates widen Canada's wealth gap: StatCan

High interest rates have hurt the wallets of lower-income Canadian households the hardest, according to new research from Statistics Canada.

The report from the federal agency published Monday found the disposable income gap between the top 40 per cent of earners and the bottom 40 per cent of earners climbed 0.5 percentage points in the third quarter of 2023 compared to a year prior.

The agency pointed to high interest rates for the growing gap.

Higher loan payments have taken a bite out of disposable income for the lowest earners, StatCan said, leaving them with little money to invest in a time of high yields.