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March 15, 2017NATIONAL BALANCE SHEET ACCOUNTS, Q4 2016 
In the fourth quarter of 2016, Canadian national net worth rose 2.3 per cent to $10.1 trillion. The gains were due to increases in both national wealth and net international investments. On a per capita basis, national net worth increased to $276,900 at the end of the fourth quarter.
Total assets, including financial and non-financial assets increased by 1.5 percent to $34.7 trillion at the end of fourth quarter 2016. Total financial assets increased by 1.6 per cent. National wealth or the total value of non-financial assets in the Canadian economy increased 1.4 per cent to $9.9 trillion at the end of fourth quarter 2016. This was mainly due to an increase in the value of total real estate and natural resources.
Household sector
In the fourth quarter 2016, Canada’s household sector net worth at market value rose 1.0 percent to $10.3 trillion total, or $281,300 per capita. The increase in net worth was mainly attributable to a 1.2 per cent gain in the value of financial assets, as the value of equity and investment funds shares benefited from stronger domestic and foreign securities markets. Households' non-financial assets grew 0.9 per cent, mainly due to real estate assets.
Households total debt to disposable income ratio grew to 169.41 per cent in the fourth quarter 2016, compared to 168.92 per cent in the previous quarter, as household credit market debt growth outpaced growth in disposable income.
Government sector
At the end of the fourth quarter 2016, general government net debt (book value) stood at 44.14 percent of GDP, up from 43.32 per cent in the previous quarter. The federal government's net debt to GDP ratio fell from 30.85 to 30.81 per cent, while other levels of government saw an increase in net debt to GDP to 28.89 per cent, up from 28.78 per cent in the previous quarter.
Corporate sector
The credit market debt to equity ratio of non-financial private corporations was 70.7 cents of credit market debt for every dollar of equity in the fourth quarter 2016, down from 73.5 cents in the previous quarter. The credit market debt-to-equity ratio of non-financial corporations has generally been on a upward trend since 2012.
Statistics Canada: CANSIM Tables 378-0119 to 378-0125.
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