Alberta NO. 1 for wealth

Our family incomes finally pass those of Ontario

EDMONTON - A high-end fashion retailer offering a new line of jeans with prices topping $450 quickly sold out more than 60 pairs and now has customers on a waiting list.

A Porsche dealership coming off a record-breaking 100-vehicle year expects sales to keep climbing in 2006 as more Edmontonians buy their dream sports car -- $64,100 and up -- to celebrate their success.

And at an upscale electronics shop, big plasma TVs starting at $6,000 are flying off the shelves.

All this points to a much bigger trend highlighted by Statistics Canada in its 2004 Income of Canadians survey released Thursday: Albertans are richer than people in any other province.

For the first time, Alberta families of two or more recorded the highest median after-tax income of any province, passing Ontario. Half of Alberta families earned $61,800 or more in 2004 after taxes.

Nationally, the median family income after taxes was $54,100.

"It's not surprising, given you've seen some really strong growth in the Alberta economy as a result of the energy boom," Carl Gomez, an economist with TD Bank Financial Group, said.

"There's some very strong wage growth, very strong income growth and where that's being reflected is if you look at the retail sales numbers in Alberta, they lead the country as well."

The median after-tax income of Alberta families has climbed fairly steadily over the past decade. It was $48,300 in 1995 and $54,600 by 2000. In 2004, a climb over the $61,000-threshold marked a four per cent increase over 2003. In contrast, Statistics Canada noted, New Brunswick families also experienced a four- per-cent increase in their after-tax income compared to 2003. But that increase brought their median only to $46,400.

Single Canadians have not fared as well as families. Their median after-tax income was $21,300. But again, singles in Alberta did better than any other province with a median after-tax income of $23,200.

While the income survey is more than a year old, high-end retailers say that the buying trends that started a couple of years ago are even more obvious today. Albertans, even Edmontonians who had a reputation for being more frugal than Calgarians, are spending more money on luxuries. It's visible in the increasing number of Rolexes on wrists, expensive cars on the road and homes wired for sound. At Holt Renfrew, which specializes in designer fashion, the store continues to up its luxury offerings. It added a Tiffany & Co. boutique in February and designer-label children's wear. Its Louis Vuitton boutique will expand this summer and Armani cosmetics will be launched in the fall. "Price used to be much more of an issue here," said Holt Renfrew general manager Brahm Kornbluth.

At Norden Autohaus, the city's only Porsche dealership, sales manager Randy Miyagishima expects to sell 120 Porsche products this year ranging from SUVs to sports cars. For most customers, the purchase is something to reward themselves with when they've achieved their definition of financial success. However, Miyagishima said, Edmonton buyers remain modest about the status symbol.

"It's an interesting thing when you compare Edmonton to Calgary because the money in Edmonton is a lot quieter money and people are still concerned about what their employees or their customers think," he said.

For those who can't afford a Porsche, there are alternatives. David Groleau, sales manager at Argyll Motor Sports Ltd. (Edmonton), said most customers still can't afford to plunk down the ticket price for motorcycles or all-terrain vehicles. But they are opting to take on monthly payments, typically in the $200-a month range.

MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME- Median is the half-way point in a series of numbers. In 2004, Alberta families with two or more people had a median after-tax income of $61,800. That means half the families had income higher than that, while half earned less.

© The Edmonton Journal 2006