More than half of Canadians do not expect positive changes to their finances in the next six months
National consumer confidence stalled in November amid the resurgence of COVID-19 infections in several major markets, according to The Conference Board of Canada.
The Board’s Consumer Confidence Index was at 74.1 last month, its lowest reading since May. The Index has also been trending at less than 70% of its February level.
“As the pandemic lingers, more Canadians expect their future finances and job prospects to remain the same in six months,” the Board reported. “The share of respondents who expect no change to their future finances increased to a record high of 58.4% this month.”
Any optimism that November conditions fostered was focused in Quebec, where the index rose by 10.3 points, and Ontario, where it increased 1.8. Meanwhile, every other region saw “significant increases” in consumer pessimism, the Board said.
Quebec had the largest monthly gain in consumer confidence nationwide.
“While concerns over future finances remained elevated, Quebecers felt more optimistic about their current finances and future job prospects than last month,” the Board said. “Consumers in the province were also more confident about major spending.” Approximately 32% of survey respondents in Quebec, the highest proportion of any province, think now is a good time to make a major purchase.
Ontario’s recovery came after two straight months of decline.
“Ontarians are feeling slightly more optimistic about their future job prospects this month,” the Board added. “As such, the share of positive views on the question of major purchases improved by 3.3%.”
However, Ontarians continue to be reticent about major spending. “With only 17% of consumers in the province being optimistic about major purchases, Ontario has the largest gap between this month’s level of optimism and February’s.”
On the other end of the spectrum, British Columbia and Atlantic Canada registered the steepest declines in the Confidence Index, at 18.3 points and 25.8 points, respectively. This largely stemmed from lingering concerns about finances and long-term job security, the Board said.
