According to a poll from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute unveiled on Monday, 47% of Canadians expressed being "worse off" financially than they were a year before and are increasingly worried about living costs
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th March, 2023) According to a poll from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute unveiled on Monday, 47% of Canadians expressed being "worse off" financially than they were a year before and are increasingly worried about living costs.
"New data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds half (47%) of Canadians say they are worse off financially than they were at this time last year after a year of inflation not seen since the 1980s. As economists wonder if Canada is heading towards a recession, or worse, stagflation, far fewer - one-in-five (22%) - expect their fortunes to improve in the next 12 months," the institute said in its poll.
According to the poll, 69% of those who said they had experienced a worsening financial situation in the past twelve months placed the cost of living and inflation as the Primary concern for Canada.
This well exceeds those who believe the top concern of the country should be health care (39%), who according to the poll, while having seen a deterioration in their finances, remain better off than others.
Additionally, only 11% of Canadians consider the environment as being the country's top priority now, the poll added.
While one out of five Canadians affirmed experiencing a worsening financial condition, this reality does not affect everyone in the same way depending on their place of residency, the poll continued.
As such, in the Canadian Province of Saskatchewan, 55% of responders said they were in a worse situation than twelve months before, while 56% answered similarly in New Brunswick.
The new data comes as Canada's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland is set to present the government budget for 2023, on March 28.
The poll was carried between March 6-13, in Canada, with a sample of 4889 adult members of the Angus Reid Forum, with a +/- 1% error margin.
