One-third of households say they’re financially worse off compared to year ago: poll

Those in lower income brackets are feeling the largest pinch

CITYnews halifax\ Nojoud Al Mallees, The Canadian Press

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OTTAWA — A new poll finds one-third of Canadian households say their financial situation has worsened over the last year.

According to a Leger poll commissioned by the Association for Canadian Studies, 34 per cent of Canadian households say they’re financially worse off compared with a year ago.

The majority of respondents, 58 per cent, said their financial situation is about the same as it was a year ago.

Meanwhile, nine per cent report their financial situation has improved.

Association for Canadian Studies president Jack Jedwab said the most striking finding in the survey is the unequal challenges Canadians have faced over the last year, with those in lower income brackets feeling the largest pinch.

Among Canadian households earning less than $40,000, 42 per cent reported their financial situation has worsened. That’s in comparison with 25 per cent of households earning $100,000 or more.

“People … in lower income brackets are finding the pinch particularly difficult in terms of the effects of the inflation and higher interest rates and so forth,” Jedwab said.

High inflation and rising interest rates have been squeezing Canadians’ finances over the last year. To clamp down on rapidly rising prices, the Bank of Canada has raised interest rates aggressively with eight straight increases since March.

The survey also found Quebecers were the least likely to report their financial situation has worsened, while respondents in British Columbia were the most likely to report it stayed the same.

Jedwab said diversity in responses across the country may have to do with the housing market and differences in housing prices.

Renters were also more likely than homeowners to report their financial situation has worsened.

The online survey was completed by 1,554 Canadians between Jan. 23 and 25 and cannot be assigned a margin of error because online polls are not considered truly random samples.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 7, 2023. 

Nojoud Al Mallees, The Canadian Press