Calgary has seen a nearly 90 per cent increase in the wealth difference between its richest and poorest neighbourhoods over the past quarter century, making the city a poster boy for growing economic segregation, according to data from a new study.

Researchers from Queen's University, the University of Toronto and StatsCan have released a working paper showing that Canadians are increasingly segregating themselves according to income.

In virtually all of Canada's major cities, the poorest neighbourhoods saw income declines between 1980 and 2005, while the wealthiest neighbourhoods saw even faster income growth.

In Toronto, the richest 10 per cent of neighbourhoods are now 69 per cent wealthier than the poorest 10 per cent than was the case in 1980. That gives Toronto second place after Calgary.

Significantly, some one-half of neighbourhoods surveyed in Montreal, Quebec City and Vancouver saw income decline during the period. Only Ottawa saw income growth in all its neighbourhood deciles.

Alberta's oil wealth didn't seem to make much difference for Calgary and Edmonton's poorest neighbourhoods; those areas saw income declines on a similar scale to those seen in other Canadian cities.

Internet site reference: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2011/12/05/canada-income-inequality-cities-ghettoization_n_1128683.html#s518912&title=8_Quebec_City