OTTAWA — A third of Canadian households say their financial situation has deteriorated over the past year, with lower-income families more likely to say they are worse off, according to a new survey.
According to a Leger survey commissioned by the Association for Canadian Studies, 34% of Canadian households say they are in worse financial health than last year.
The majority of respondents, 58%, said their financial situation was about the same as a year ago.
Nine percent said their financial situation had improved.
Jack Jedwab, president of the Association for Canadian Studies, said the survey’s most striking finding was the unequal challenges Canadians have faced over the past year, with low-income people the most affected.
Among Canadian households earning less than $40,000, 42% said their financial situation had deteriorated. This compares to 25% of households earning $100,000 or more.
“People…in lower income brackets are finding the crisis particularly difficult in terms of the impact of inflation and higher interest rates and so on,” Jedwab said.
High inflation and rising interest rates have put pressure on Canadian finances over the past year. In an effort to rein in rising prices, the Bank of Canada has aggressively raised interest rates eight times in a row since March of last year.
Economists say low-income households are particularly vulnerable to inflation because they save less and have less flexibility in the face of high inflation. This means that higher prices put more pressure on their budgets.
Meanwhile, high-income earners are saving more and weathering the storm more easily.
The survey also found that Quebecers were the least likely to say their financial situation had gotten worse, while respondents from British Columbia were the most likely to say it was getting worse.
Among Quebecers, 22% said they were worse off. In British Columbia, the figure is almost twice as high, with 43% saying their financial situation has deteriorated.
Jedwab said the variety of responses across the country could be related to the housing market and differences in house prices.
Renters were also more likely than owners to report that their financial situation had deteriorated.
The online survey was completed by 1,554 Canadians between January 23-25 and cannot be subject to a margin of error, as 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
Source: www.orilliamatters.com
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