Economic pessimism declines, but two-in-five say they are 'worse off' than last year

By Staff

December 16th, 2024

BURLINGTON, ON

UPDATE:

The financial statement expected later today won’t be read by the Minister of Finance – she resigned.

The postal workers are expected to return to work on Tuesday and the Minister of Finance is going to report today on its financial books heading into the new year, and Canadians get to shop amidst a GST holiday.

The Angus Reid Institute reports that there are signs the financial burdens on Canadian households have eased but not fully abated.

New data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds fewer Canadians expressing concerns about the state of their finances as inflation has cooled, but still many who are feeling the burden of the increased cost of living.

Two-in-five (38%) Canadians say they are worse off now than they were 12 months ago. This is the lowest this measure has been since 2021 but is still much higher than data seen in ARI’s 14 years of tracking those data.

One-quarter (26%) express pessimism about where their finances will be by the end of 2025. This, too, is a lower proportion of Canadians expressing negativity about their economic future than at any point since 2021.

Both measures coincide with Canadians reporting less difficulty with their monthly rent or mortgage payment (39%) than in June (44%) as mortgage rates have fallen and the climb of average rents across the country has halted.

But there is still concern about the cost of food, which has continued to outpace overall inflation. Half (48%) describe feeding their household as “difficult” (36%) or “very difficult” (12%).

Food and housing costs are also elevated concerns for new Canadians as the federal government changes tact on its immigration policies heading into the new year. Canadians who have been in the country for less than a decade are more likely than to find their grocery bills challenging (63%) than those who were born here (47%). And more recent immigrants also report more difficulties with their rent or mortgage (61% vs. 39% for those born in Canada).

Link to the poll here: www.angusreid.org/