Report also highlights continued battle with housing affordability
The struggle to make ends meet is still all too real for millions of Canadians, as highlighted in a new report from Statistics Canada.
The agency’s Canadian Social Survey collected data between April and June and found that 45% of respondents reported that rising prices were greatly affecting their ability to meet day-to-day expenses, an increase of 12 percentage points from two years earlier.
Inflation has disproportionately affected those in the lowest income quintile, with 59% of that cohort struggling compared to 52% and 48% respectively among the second and third quintiles, and just 27% in the highest quintile.
The survey also highlighted Canada’s ongoing challenges with housing affordability with 38% of those who took part saying they are very concerned about being able to afford housing costs or rent because of rising prices. This was eight percentage points higher than in 2022.
Again, the lower income participants are affected more with around half being very concerned about housing costs. However, across most income quintiles those who rent are more concerned about housing costs (58-61%) than those who own their homes (31-38%). Renters and owners in the highest income quintile were less likely than those in lower income quintiles to report having this concern.
Young Canadians
Young Canadians continue to be one of the most challenged groups financially, with 55% of those aged 25 to 44 years reporting that rising prices were greatly affecting their ability to meet day-to-day expenses in spring 2024. By comparison, just 28% of seniors said this.
Younger adults are also more likely to express concern about housing costs (56% of 15-34 year olds) compared to those aged 65 and above (19%).
More than half of households with children (55%) and those who identify as having a disability (57%) also report struggling to make ends meet due to rising prices, at levels higher than the average across the wider population.
The report notes that financial difficulty is associated with lower quality of life. In the survey 73%) of people who did not report having daily financial stress had a hopeful view of the future compared with 35% of those who found most days quite a bit or extremely stressful due to financial concerns.
