Those living in the Prairie provinces are considerably less optimistic compared to Canadians elsewhere
Economic and fiscal confidence among Canadian households is still hovering at near-record low levels, according to the mid-January reading of the Bloomberg Nanos Canadian Confidence Index.
The results of the 4-week tracking ending January 18 found that the measure of financial health and economic expectations registered at 54.53, falling slightly from the 54.72 a month prior. This was considerably below the 12-month high of 60.04.
The analysis reported that pessimism was especially evident in Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan.
“Canada’s Prairie provinces continue to register lower levels of consumer confidence compared to other regions in Canada,” Nanos Research chief data scientist Nik Nanos said.
Expectations for real estate prices were markedly lower at 49.52 this week, compared to 49.10 around 4 weeks prior. In terms of job security and personal finances, the index was at 59.55 compared to the 60.34 in mid-December.
Read more: Canadian optimism flags further as 2019 starts
Last week, Macquarie Group’s Canadian market strategist and NA economist David Doyle warned that the real estate market’s constant struggles with affordability, along with other economic risks, would likely impact national GDP growth in the long run.
“Canada’s economy, we think, is at this critical juncture, and it’s confronting several headwinds – that includes challenged demographics, low productivity, structural imbalances like the housing situation and our trade deficit,” Doyle said in an interview with BNN Bloomberg.
“And we see a real absence of growth drivers.”
