Bill Holland says Canada’s wealthy lag Americans in giving

Former CI Financial chief executive Bill Holland has accused wealthy Canadians of falling short on philanthropy, pointing to a giving gap that research says is wide. The issue is drawing attention as UBS says wealth is becoming concentrated among a very small group of people worldwide.

Holland told the Financial Post that rich Americans are expected to give money away, while he could identify many wealthy Canadians who do not. He also called Canadians “terrible” at philanthropy, according to the Financial Post, and said charitable giving is needed by society.

Fortune reported that Holland has donated more than $100 million of his own money and raised another $50 million for charitable causes. Holland’s comments come against a backdrop in which the UBS 2026 Global Wealth Report says 56,000 people, or the richest 0.001% globally, hold more wealth than the poorest 4 billion people combined.

Research shows a large U.S.-Canada gap

Data compiled by the Fraser Institute shows Americans gave 1.22% of aggregate income to charity in 2021. Canadians gave 0.55%, according to the institute.

The Fraser Institute estimated that Canadian charities would have received an extra $14.4 billion in 2021 if Canadians had donated the same share of income as Americans. That would have lifted Canadian giving to a possible $26.2 billion, according to the institute.

U.S. charitable donations totaled $484.85 billion in 2021, according to Giving USA data cited by the Philanthropy Network. The Giving USA Foundation said U.S. giving later reached $617.2 billion last year, a record total.

The comparison is notable because UBS estimates the median Canadian adult is wealthier than the median American adult. UBS put median wealth at about $148,000 per adult in Canada, compared with about $69,000 in the United States.

UBS reported a different picture using average wealth, which is pulled upward by very wealthy households. Average wealth per adult was about $696,000 in the United States and $400,000 in Canada, according to UBS, reflecting the larger number of billionaires and other very high-net-worth individuals in the U.S.

Other measures put both countries near the top

The Charities Aid Foundation’s latest World Giving Index ranked the United States fifth and Canada eighth. The index measures giving by looking at donations, volunteering and help offered to strangers, according to the foundation.

The same index ranked Indonesia first for the sixth year in a row. Fortune noted that Indonesia leads despite being in a region with comparatively low average wealth.

Melinda French Gates has urged new millionaires and billionaires to give away at least half of their wealth, Fortune reported. Forbes estimates French Gates’ fortune at about $30 billion, and Fortune reported that she was one of the original signers of the Giving Pledge, which asks billionaires to donate most of their wealth during their lives or through their estates.

Fortune reported that more than 250 people have joined the Giving Pledge, including John Arnold and Laura Arnold. The Arnolds have donated more than $2.3 billion to causes including education and criminal justice reform, according to Fortune, and this week announced a new multimillion-dollar commitment to research on sports betting’s social effects.

Some billionaires have pushed back on the pledge or on the difficulty of effective giving, Fortune reported, citing Peter Thiel and Elon Musk. Arnold wrote on X that billion-dollar fortunes could do “enormous benefit” and said deciding how to use money productively can matter as much as making more of it.

Holland made a similar case to the Financial Post, saying philanthropy can give people purpose. He said charitable work becomes more meaningful when donors get involved with the problems their money is meant to address.

This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.