Are we richer or poorer?

Canadians had a record high net worth of  $6.3 trillion from January to March 2011, according to Statistics Canada data.

That’s  $184,700 net worth per capita.

That’s also 1% more than the fourth quarter of  2010, which already saw a 2.4% gain from the previous quarter.

But debt-to-income ratio levels are at a record high as well, at 147%.  That’s almost one percentage point higher than the previous quarter. The high debt level, which measures total debt against disposable income, isn’t the result of consumer credit debt, which slowed during the first quarter. Instead, it’s tied to the number of mortgages taken out by Canadians, possibly to take advantage of the extremely low interest rate.