The "chicken littles" say the sky is falling in Canada ??? The recent stock market rally is padding the finances of Canadians, who have seen their collective wealth jump to record levels in the early months of the year,
Matt Lundy reports. Household net worth rose by nearly $550-billion or 3.3 per cent during the first quarter of 2024, Statistics Canada said this week. Households keen to join the stock rally acquired nearly $24-billion in shares of pooled investment funds – mostly exchange-traded funds – in the first quarter, exceeding total acquisitions in 2023. Canadians have also reined in their borrowing as they contend with higher interest rates: Total liabilities rose by $8.7-billion to start the year, an increase of just 0.3 per cent.