While Canadians are better off financially than they were 30 years ago, rising personal healthcare costs are contributing to a decline in economic equality and security, according to a study published by the country’s Centre for Living Standards.
"Canadians became more secure [between 1981 and 2010] in terms of the risk from single-parent poverty and old-age poverty, but these gains were more than offset by the fall in security from the financial risk of illness and of unemployment," the authors explained in the institute’s 2010 index of economic well-being.
While universal medical care does help to offset some of the liability faced by sick Canadians, the researchers found that private healthcare costs – those not covered by government medical plans – have doubled since 1981.
"Increased private health expenditure imposed by poor health thus represents a growing financial burden for low income Canadians," note the researchers.
Alberta and Newfoundland were the top-ranked provinces for economic well-being, with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick at the bottom of the list.