Our perception of the national economy has worsened since the start of the year. Just under a third of Canadians (32 per cent, down three points since January) rate the economic conditions in Canada today as “very good” or “good,” while 64 per cent (up three points) consider them “poor” or “very poor.”
Nowhere is animosity towards the current state of affairs higher than in Alberta, where practically four in five residents (79 per cent) are dissatisfied with the national picture. In B.C., 66 per cent feel the same.
And, for the first time since we started tracking this issue in January 2022, 51 per cent of Canadians (up nine points) say their own personal finances today are “poor” or “very poor,” while 46 per cent (down eight points) say they are “very good” or “good.”
Canadians aged 35 to 54 are the least likely to look at their financial situation in a positive light (41 per cent). The proportions are higher among their counterparts aged 18 to 34 (44 per cent) and aged 55 and over (52 per cent).
On this question, Alberta is at the bottom of the list, with just 38 per cent of residents saying their own personal finances are “very good” or “good.” More than two in five residents of all other regions feel the same way, including B.C. and Atlantic Canada (each at 45 per cent), Ontario (46 per cent), Quebec (47 per cent) and Saskatchewan and Manitoba (51 per cent).
It must be noted that there is a significant gender gap on both questions. Men are more likely than women to believe that the national economy is doing fine (39 per cent to 26 per cent) and to think their own household is not struggling (53 per cent to 40 per cent).
Concerns about inflation are also on the rise. Canadians believe they will be paying more in the next six months for gasoline (77 per cent, up 12 points), a week’s worth of groceries (76 per cent, up two points), a new car (68 per cent, up five points), real estate (65 per cent, up 14 points) and a new TV (53 per cent, up six points).
More than half Canadians have worried “frequently” or “occasionally” in the past couple of months about the value of their investments (52 per cent, up six points) and the safety of their savings (51 per cent, up four points). The needle is also higher than at the start of the year on concerns related to being able to pay mortgage or rent (42 per cent, up eight points), unemployment affecting the household (also 42 per cent, up eight points) and employers running into serious financial trouble (33 per cent, up five points).
As our confidence in household finances drops and concerns about setbacks rise, Canadians remain skeptical about the future. About a third (34 per cent, down three points) foresee a decline in the national economy, 43 per cent (up two points) predict no change and just 15 per cent (up one point) expect a positive bounce.
The political component of this survey did not move radically in the last seven months. More than a third of Canadians (36 per cent, down two points) trust Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to do the right thing to help the economy. The rating is slightly higher for Official Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre (41 per cent, down two points) and lower for Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem (35 per cent, up one point).
Canadians are not overwhelmingly looking at Poilievre as prepared to manage the nation’s finances. In a federal Conservative Party stronghold like B.C., only 37 per cent of residents think he will do the right thing to help the economy. This is practically the same level that Trudeau gets (36 per cent). We may be more concerned about money than we were in January, but the momentum for the Conservative leader on this particular file seems to have stalled.
Mario Canseco is president of Research Co.
Results are based on an online study conducted from August 5-7, among 1,001 adults in Canada. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
