Data collected by Statistics Canada shows that the wealthiest Canadians, specifically the top 1% of taxpayers, saw their share of total income fall to a six-year low in 2012.

"The top 1% held 10.3% of total income in 2012, down from 10.6% in 2011, and well below the historical peak of 12.1% reached in 2006," reads a report released in Statistics Canada's The Daily on November 18. "The share of the top 5% of tax filers declined from 25.1% in 2006 to 23.6% in 2012, while the share of the top 10% of tax filers fell from 36.1% to 34.9% during the same period."

In order to be included in this top 1% category, Canadian tax filers needed to earn a total income of $215,700 in 2012. This is up from $212,700 in 2011. To make it into the top 5%, a tax payer needed to have a total income of $112,100, and for the top 10% it was $86,700.

Statistics Canada points out that this decline in Canada is in contrast to the United States, where the income share of the top 1% increased from 18.0% in 2006 to 19.3% in 2012. In the US, the total income share of the wealthiest 1% of tax filers reach its lowest point in recent years in 2009, when it dropped to 16.7%.