Seven in Ten Canadians Want to Grow Wealth but Feel Blocked

Canada has a reputation for cautious investors, but a new national study says the stereotype no longer fits. Nearly seven in ten everyday Canadians want to take an active role in how they grow wealth, according to the inaugural Canadian Momentum Project from Purpose Unlimited, released in October 2026. The catch is that the system they are working with was not built for them.

The research, developed with YouGov and PMG Intelligence, surveyed close to fifteen hundred people across three groups: everyday Canadians, high-net-worth investors, and wealth advisors. It uncovered an ambition gap at the heart of the country's financial life. Almost half of everyday Canadians say acting on promising opportunities feels too difficult with the tools and services they have today. In other words, people want to grow wealth. They just cannot find a clear path to do it.

Why Young Investors Struggle to Grow Wealth

For readers starting out, the numbers land close to home. About two in three everyday Canadians say it is important to know which wealth opportunities fit their situation, yet just over a third believe they actually do. Nearly two-thirds say they would invest and do more with their money if the system were clearer, simpler, and easier to act on. Roughly two-thirds also want to learn about different ways to grow wealth, a share that climbs to nearly eight in ten among high-net-worth investors.

The biggest blocker, the report suggests, is language and design. Financial products are still explained in technical jargon, and many portfolio tools were built for an era when investing meant calling a broker. Three-quarters of everyday Canadians want strategies that help their money last longer, and nearly as many want tools that let them adjust their plans as life evolves. That long view matters for anyone starting to grow wealth in their twenties, when small early habits can compound for decades.

Advisors Feel the Friction Too

The problem is not only on the client side. More than half of advisors say they usually or always face obstacles when helping clients, from paperwork and administrative burden to product shelves at their firms that limit what they can offer. As reported by Wealth Professional, the study also exposes a confidence gap inside the profession: advisors feel strong confidence in traditional investments but far less in private markets and digital assets, the very areas many younger clients are most curious about.

Purpose is calling for an industry-wide shift from a product-first model to a person-first one, with simpler language, personalized portfolios, and tools that help advisors get fluent in unfamiliar products and help clients grow wealth. In a statement, Purpose founder and CEO Som Seif said Canadians "want a more active part in deciding our future," adding that what is missing is "a system built to meet that." The ambition is there, he argued. The infrastructure is not.

The Ambition Gap, Measured in One Score

To make the finding tangible, the project created the Canadian Momentum Score, a measure out of one hundred combining readiness and conviction against the friction people face. Everyday Canadians scored in the high sixties: ready to build wealth on their own terms, but moving slower than they would like because of unclear language and clunky tools. High-net-worth investors scored slightly lower. They are confident in their decisions, but cite speed and access as their main frictions.

One comparison worth noting: advisors report very high confidence in traditional investments, but that confidence collapses to under two in ten for private markets and about one in eight for digital assets. For a generation that grew up trading crypto and talking about private credit on social media, that gap helps explain why advice can feel disconnected from how young people actually want to grow wealth.

How to Grow Wealth on Your Own Terms

If you are among the aspiring investors in the survey, people who want to start investing but have not yet done so, you are not alone, and the barrier is probably not your motivation. The research points to a few practical moves for anyone trying to grow wealth from scratch: ask for plain-language explanations before signing anything, compare fees and features on self-directed platforms, and check whether your bank's advice tools actually fit your situation instead of a default template.

The project is designed as an annual series, with this first edition setting a baseline for measuring momentum over time. Fieldwork ran from February to March 2026, and the full report is available on Purpose's official page. Future editions will show whether the industry's promises to simplify actually move the needle.

Related reading: our earlier piece on investing anxiety among young investors found the same friction playing out south of the border. For more coverage like this, see the investing-genz beat.