Middle-class households, in particular, feel slighted by the federal government
A growing number of Canadians are becoming less optimistic about their financial prospects, according to the results of a year-end survey conducted for Global News by Ipsos.
The poll found that 71% of respondents reported “feeling good” about their personal finances at the end of 2018, which was markedly lower than the 80% in 2017 and the 75% in the year prior to that.
Furthermore, only 61% of Canadians polled said that they are actually in a “good” financial situation, compared to the 66% in 2017 and the 62% in 2016.
“This is one of the commitments that the federal government made when it ran in 2015, it was going to help the middle class and those who want to join the middle class,” according to the poll results. “That particular group of people is feeling particularly hard done by these days.”
Read more: Canadian optimism flags further as 2019 starts
Going into 2019, approximately 64% of Canadians reported feeling good about their retirement plans and savings, down from the 72% proportion in 2017 and the 65% in 2016.
Less than 60% are feeling good about the economy this year, however – considerably lower than the 65% in 2017. The proportion of those pessimistic about the economy is also catching up, at 41%.
