As the tax filing deadline for 2023 approaches, we are now getting data contained in the tax returns we filed a year ago for 2022. And it seems Canadians are doing more poorly than in the previous year.
At least that is the case if you use median income levels as a measuring post.
StatsCan says the median income point – that’s where half of us are above and half are below – fell in 2022. And this is not a provincial issue – it is the same story across the nation so carries national overtones.
Saskatchewan and Alberta had the biggest declines in the country – falling back 3.6 percent in this province from 2021 to 2022. Alberta’s situation was slightly worse. Energy bashing by Ottawa may be one reason it was most pronounced here but Manitoba took a pretty solid hit too so drought may also be a contributor.
The situation is also persistent. The Prairies were down from 2019 while the rest of the country was rising, leaving Saskatchewan with the fifth highest median income level nationally at $44,200 two years ago.
