“Financial Struggles Continue: A Third of Households Report Being Worse Off Than Last Year”
OTTAWA — A new survey found that a third of Canadian households say their financial situation has worsened in the past year.
According to a Leger survey commissioned by the Association for Canadian Studies, 34 percent of Canadian households say they are worse off financially than they were last year.
The majority of respondents, 58 percent, said their financial situation is about the same as it was a year ago.
Nine percent now state that their financial situation has improved.
Association for Canadian Studies President Jack Jedwab said the most striking finding from the survey was the uneven challenges Canadians have faced over the past year, with those in lower income brackets feeling the biggest pinch.
Among Canadian households earning less than $40,000, 42 percent said their financial situation has deteriorated. That compares to 25 percent of households making $100,000 or more.
“People … in the lower income brackets are finding the crisis particularly difficult in terms of the impact of inflation and higher interest rates and whatnot,” Jedwab said.
High inflation and rising interest rates have put pressure on Canadian finances over the last year. In a bid to stem rapidly rising prices, the Bank of Canada has aggressively hiked interest rates eight times in a row since March.
The survey also found that Quebec residents were the least likely to report that their financial situation had deteriorated, while respondents in British Columbia were the most likely to report that it had stayed the same.
Jedwab said the variety of responses across the country may have to do with the housing market and differences in house prices.
Tenants were also more likely than homeowners to report that their financial situation had deteriorated.
The online survey was completed by 1,554 Canadians between January 23 and 25 and cannot be subject to a margin of error because online surveys are not considered true random samples.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on February 7, 2023.
Nojoud Al Mallees, The Canadian Press
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