The central bank's rate movements are exacting a high toll
As of the week ending October 28, around 47% of Canadians indicated a belief that their financial situations have worsened over the past year, according to the latest poll conducted by Nanos Research for Bloomberg.
This was the highest reading for this metric so far, ever since Nanos began its surveys in 2008. Nanos said that this share exceeded even the levels seen during the height of the pandemic and the global financial crisis. Just a little over 13% of respondents said that their finances have improved.
Consumers’ financial sentiment weakened for the ninth straight week, with the Bloomberg Nanos Canadian Confidence Index settling at 42.1. Nanos said that this was its lowest level so far, not counting the most recent economic crises.
More than six in 10 Canadians (64%) said that they are bracing for a weaker economy within the next half-year, while only 9% are anticipating an improvement. Fully 40% of Canadians are expecting home prices to fall over the next six months.
Read more: Could rising interest rates crash Canada’s housing market?
These were similar to the results of a recent survey by MNP LTD, which found 59% of Canadians expressing anxiety about the financial impact of the current rate-hike environment.
This level was also the highest point on record since MNP began tracking in 2017.
“After the repeated interest rate hikes this year, it is understandable that Canadians are more concerned than ever about what the impact will be on their finances,” said Grant Bazian, president of MNP LTD.
“Our findings show that renters and lower-income households are more financially vulnerable to the impacts of rising interest rates and the cost-of-living. These groups will need to be particularly cautious with their spending in the coming months to keep themselves out of financial trouble.”
