Canada is facing “crisis levels” of economic inequality as billionaire wealth soars and millions struggle with basic needs, according to a new brief from Oxfam Canada.

“Economic inequality, both income inequality and wealth inequality, has reached crisis levels in Canada,” the report says, adding that “in 2025, income inequality was at a record high.”

Nationally, “the world’s 12 richest billionaires have more wealth than the poorest half of humanity combined,” and in Canada “the billionaire class is growing,” with 89 Canadian billionaires in 2025. Oxfam reports that “the wealth of Canada’s richest 40 billionaires grew by almost $95B, more than 20 percent” between 2024 and 2025.

The brief states the richest one per cent “hold 3.9 trillion in wealth, almost as much as the bottom 80 percent combined,” describing this as “a wide, expansive, echoing wealth chasm.” It notes that in 2024, “more than 25 percent of Canadians were living in food-insecure households,” and “up to 300,000 were experiencing homelessness.”

Saskatchewan context

Saskatchewan mirrors many of the national pressures highlighted in Oxfam’s findings. Food Banks Canada’s 2024 provincial report card shows the province had a 28 per cent food insecurity rate, one of the highest in the country. It also graded Saskatchewan F on indicators such as housing affordability, healthcare access, and overall poverty experience, as per foodbankscanada.ca

Provincial data also shows poverty remains widespread. Saskatchewan’s official poverty rate sat at 11.1 per cent in 2024, again graded F, with nearly 39 per cent of residents spending more than 30 per cent of their income on housing. [foodsbankscanada.ca]

Nationally, the Oxfam brief warns that inequality threatens democratic stability, stating “the more unequal a society, the greater the chance that democracy is eroded,” and arguing that inequality “degrades… trust in authorities and institutions.”

As financial pressures intensify, Saskatchewan residents are experiencing the same affordability challenges cited in the report. Rising rents, high grocery costs, and insufficient income supports continue to strain households, trends consistent with Oxfam’s national findings and supported by provincial data showing widespread economic instability.

Oxfam argues the situation is not unavoidable.

“Wealth inequality in Canada and globally is not an inevitability, it’s a policy choice.”

Highlighting the absence of a federal wealth tax and pointing out that “a progressive wealth tax… has the potential to raise approximately $25B annually.” It adds that addressing offshore tax havens could raise “an additional $15B annually.”