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Photo: Contributed - http://www.statcan.gc.ca

Characteristics of high income Canadians, total income, national thresholds, Canada, 2010

Statistics Canada says the top one per cent of the country's 25.5 million tax filers accounted for 10.6 per cent of the nation's total income in 2010, down from a peak of 12.1 per cent in 2006.

However, that top one per cent also paid 21.2 per cent of all federal and provincial or territorial income taxes, down from the peak of 23.3 per cent in 2007.

In 2010, a tax filer required an annual income of $201,400 to be in the top one per cent, up from $147,500 in 1982.

The income gap between the top one per cent and the rest of filers has widened over time, calculated in 2010 constant dollars.

In 1982, the median income of the top filers was $191,600 or seven times the median income of $28,000 for the other 99 per cent.

By 2010, the median income of the top filers increased to $283,400, about 10 times the median income of $28,400 for the rest.

In 2010, four provinces – Ontario, Alberta, Quebec and British Columbia – accounted for 92% of the 254,700 people in the top 1%.

Ontario had 110,300, followed by Alberta with 52,200, Quebec at 42,600 and British Columbia with 29,500.

Between 1990 and 2010, Alberta's share of the top 1% of filers doubled from 10% to 20%, while Ontario's proportion fell from 51% to 43%.