Canada has a critical financial advice gap, where 51% of households are "unadvised" — a disparity that hits lower-income families hardest. The discussion explores how excessive regulatory burden and economic factors prevent middle-income Canadians from accessing professional financial guidance, leading many to rely on social media influencers instead. Through analysis of the CD Howe Institute's "Regulatory Reset" report, the hosts unpack how this advice gap affects mortgage decisions, homeownership wealth, retirement savings, and national productivity.

Advised investors accumulate roughly 2.3 times more assets over 15 years than non-advised peers, yet only 38% of lower-income households receive financial advice compared to 60% of high-income households.
35% of Canadian retail investors now make investment decisions based on social media influencers rather than professional advisors, while banks leave a 16-percentage-point gap in the financial planning advice customers actually need.
Financial services regulations have increased 51% since 2006, making it uneconomical for advisors to serve mass-market clients and contributing to underutilization of tax-advantaged savings programs — only 22.4% of eligible Canadians contributed to RRSPs in 2022.

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