Almost half, 46%, of Canadians are losing sleep over worries about their financial situation, according to a recent poll issued by Ipsos. An almost equal 47% of respondents reported experiencing strain in personal relationships because of financial pressures.
The study, conducted among 1,150 Canadian adults between June 21 and 25, highlighted that Canadians are being forced to adapt in response to the economic challenges they face.
Over half of Canadians, 56%, said they have been dining out less, while 45% even shop at multiple grocery stores to find better deals. Additionally, 37% of respondents said they were purchasing cheaper and less healthy items at the grocery store. Almost a quarter, 23%, of Canadians reported eating less to save money.
One in ten respondents reported visiting a food bank in the last year. In comparison, this is half the rate found in a recent Nanos survey, which showed one in five Canadians knew someone using a food bank to meet their needs.
Food banks reported being at their wits end in Nov. 2023, and the situation has since worsened.
Stephane Sirois, Executive Director of Food Depot Alimentaire in New Brunswick told True North at the time that more working-class Canadians were visiting food banks.
“The system was not designed to support this volume of demand. We are close to a breaking point,” said Sirois. “We’re not seeing any signs of reversing this trend in the near future. In the next couple of years, numerous Canadians will have to renew their mortgage at a much higher interest rate. This will put even more families over the edge and make them vulnerable to food insecurity.”
The Bank of Canada previously warned that mortgage payments due for renewal will skyrocket over 60% by 2026.
A quarter of Canadians reported delaying a move to avoid rent or cost increases, while 28% have delayed or cancelled purchasing new household furniture, electronics, or appliances.
True North previously reported that housing affordability reached an all-time low in Apr. 2024.
The Bank of Canada recently implemented two consecutive interest rate cuts. However, 63% of Canadians said that this is insufficient to assist their personal financial situation, while 64% said it would not positively affect their overall happiness and think more should be done.
Nearly five times as many Canadians think inflation will get worse compared to those who think it will improve, 43% vs. 9%.
For the economy as a whole, 34% of Canadians expect it to worsen, while only one in ten expect an improvement.
“Despite these short-term challenges, a majority (52%) expect the storm to eventually pass and remain optimistic about their financial future, indicating a resilient longer-term outlook in the face of a challenging economic climate,” reads the study.
Ipsos uses a credibility interval to measure the precision of its polls. This poll is accurate to within ±3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20 if all Canadians had been polled.