53% of Canadians Say They ‘Can’t Keep Up’ With Rising Cost of Living: Poll

A woman shops for produce in a grocery store in Toronto in a file photo. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press)

More than half of Canadians say they are struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living as inflation drives up household bills, a new poll shows.

The online poll (pdf) was conducted by the Angus Reid Institute (ARI) between Feb. 11 to 13, surveying 1,622 adult Canadians who are members of the Angus Reid Forum.

Just over half (53 percent) of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that they “can’t keep up with the cost of living,” as inflation drives up the price of essential goods. A total of 44 percent of Canadians disagreed with the statement, saying they don’t yet feel that level of pressure, while 3 percent said they are unsure.

“Canadians’ household budgets are becoming squeezed from all angles as the price of goods rises. The costs of food, gasoline, and energy in particular are adding to household bills,” the ARI said in a Feb. 28 news release.

The findings come as Canada’s inflation rate, measured by the Consumer Price Index, surpassed 5 percent in January 2022, reaching the highest level since 1991, according to data from Statistics Canada.

The survey also found that half of the respondents (51 percent) said they would be unable to cover an unexpected $1,000 expense. Of those respondents, one-in-seven said they couldn’t deal with a surprise bill of any amount because their budget is already overstretched.

In response to the inflation, three-quarters of Canadians say they’ve modified their spending in recent months. Discretionary spending (53 percent), major purchases (41 percent), extra car trips (31 percent), and vacations (29 percent) are some of the things that Canadians say they have avoided recently. Another 22 percent said they have de-prioritized savings.

Stressed About Money

The ARI survey said that the “current financial waters are swamping” an overwhelming proportion of Canadians. Seven in ten say they are “stressed about money,” while only one-quarter of the respondents say they are never stressed about financial issues recently.

“At least three-in-five across all age-gender groups say they carry this stress,” the ARI said.

The potential loss of jobs is also a major financial concern across the country.

The spread of the Omicron variant across Canada in December 2021 and January 2022 forced many businesses to shut down, resulting in the loss of 200,000 jobs early this year, according to Statistics Canada.

The survey found one-third (36 percent) of Canadians say they fear someone in their household could lose a job because of the current state of the economy, while more than half (56 percent) say the opposite.

By province, at least two-in-five in each of Canada’s four westernmost provinces—Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan—say they worry about job losses affecting their household. Residents in Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada are less stressed about potential job losses.

Debt is another concern for a significant segment of Canadians, the survey said.

One-third (36 percent) of the respondents say they have too much debt, while three-in-five (61 percent) feel they are capable of handling their debt.

Similar to job-loss anxiety, the survey found a regional imbalance for debt worries. A slight majority (51 percent) of residents in Saskatchewan believe they are carrying too much debt—the highest proportion in the country—followed by those in Alberta (45 percent) and Manitoba (46 percent) as the next most concerned about their debt levels.

This number is lower, yet still significant, for residents in B.C. (36 percent), Ontario (34 percent), Quebec (31 percent), and Atlantic Canada (40 percent).

The ARI said the survey is self-commissioned, carrying a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percent, 19 times out of 20.