BRENDA O’FARRELL
The 1510 West
Of the five biggest de-merged municipalities in the West Island, Beaconsfield has the biggest income gap among its residents, according to a ranking of Canadian municipalities by the Local News Data Hub at Toronto Metropolitan University.
The ranking lists the 418 municipalities across the country with populations of 10,000 or more, focusing on the gap between the highest earning households and the households with the lowest incomes in each town.
Beaconsfield, with a population of 19,040, ranked 17th on the list, placing it among the top towns in the country when measured by the discrepancy between the households that earn the most and those that earn the least within its boundaries.
The other four West Island municipalities in the West Island that made the list were Kirkland, which ranked 40th; Dorval, which ranked 45th; Pointe Claire, which was 64th; and Dollard des Ormeaux, which came in at 75th.
See INCOME GAP, Page 2.
INCOME GAP: Richest households in Beaconsfield make 4.2 times more than poorest
From Page 1
Income inequality has been recognized as a social measure that has a negative impact on health, happiness and community ties and can limit opportunities for financial stability, according to researchers.
According to the data, the most affluent households in Beaconsfield make 4.2 times more than the least well off in the town.
The data shows that median after-tax income of a household in Beaconsfield in 2021 was $110,000. Despite this apparent wealth, a total of 655 people, or roughly 3.4 per cent of the population of 19,040, live in poverty.
In Kirkland, where the median after-tax household income in 2021 was $104,000, the most affluent households make four times more than the poorest households. According to the ranking, 805 people, or roughly 4.2 per cent of the population of 19,240, live in poverty.
In the city of Dorval, where the median after-tax household income in 2021 was $66,000, the most affluent households make 3.6 times more than the poorest households. According to the ranking, 1,165 people, or roughly 6 per cent of the population of 19,115, live in poverty.
In Pointe Claire, where the median after-tax household income in 2021 was $78,000, the most affluent households make 3.5 times more than the poorest households. According to the ranking, 1,380 people, or 4.4 per cent of the population of 31,560, live in poverty.
In Dollard, where the median after-tax household income in 2021 was $82,000, the most affluent households make 3.5 times more than the poorest households. According to the ranking, 2,435 people, or roughly 5 per cent of the population of 47,925, live in poverty.
The data shows that both the towns with the biggest and smallest gaps between rich and poor households were found in Quebec.
Westmount is where the biggest gap exists – with 10 per cent of households earning 10.9 times more than the lowest earning households in 2020. Meanwhile, in St. Amable, a municipality of just more than 13,000 residents north of Beloeil, the most affluent households make 2.6 times more than its least well off.
The Local News Data Hub also pointed to a recent Statistics Canada report that showed the wealthiest 20 per cent of households in Canada controlled two-thirds of the country’s net worth as of early 2023, while the bottom 40 per cent accounted for just 2.7 per cent.
The StatsCan report also noted the wealth gap between rich and poor in Canada widened at the fastest pace on record in the first quarter of this year. Compared with the wealthiest households, lower-income Canadians accumulated more debt, saw their savings shrink and received less investment income.
The Canadian median after-tax household income in 2020 was $73,000, according to the data.
To compare income inequality across Canada, the Local News Data Hub ranked the country’s 418 largest municipalities using Statistics Canada’s 2020 Gini index for adjusted after-tax household income. The Gini index is an internationally recognized tool statisticians use to measure how income is distributed across a society. It takes into account wages, pension income, investment earnings and government payments like social assistance.