Canadians not delaying major life events despite rising inflation, poll finds – National
As Canadians battle inflation, a recent CIBC survey finds that up to 61 per cent have taken steps to cut costs, but few will postpone major events their life.
The survey found that only 2 percent of respondents are considering delaying marriage, 6 percent are considering delaying buying a first home, and 2 percent are considering delaying having a child.
However, some projects are delayed due to inflation. About 15 percent said they would delay home renovations and 20 percent said they would postpone vacations until next year.
The bank surveyed 1,510 randomly selected Canadian adults in early August.
A large majority (86 percent) say they are concerned about inflation, while more than half (54 percent) say they are concerned about their ability to pay for everyday expenses such as gas and groceries.
Nearly half of those surveyed (46 percent) say they are cutting back on non-essential spending, like dining out and entertainment, while 43 percent are cutting back on spending by buying less expensive items and using coupons.
As inflation continues to hurt Canadians’ wallets, 30 per cent believe Canada is heading into a recession, while almost a quarter of respondents (23 per cent) believe we are currently in a recession.
Inflation and the cost of living have become major concerns for voters, with their annual rate reaching 4% in August despite multiple interest rate hikes. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre have noted this concern.
Poilievre has criticized government spending and says it is a factor in inflation, while Trudeau recently announced a number of measures to reduce the cost of living. These include threatening additional taxes on grocers unless there is a plan to lower prices by Thanksgiving and eliminating the GST on rental construction in an effort to increase supply and lower prices.
The CEOs of Canada’s major food companies met with Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne on Monday, while the bill to eliminate the GST on buildings was tabled on Thursday.
An Ipsos poll for PKBNEWS found Thursday that 40 percent of Canadians believe Poilievre is the best choice for prime minister, and 31 percent say the same for Trudeau.
Ipsos CEO Darrell Bricker told PKBNEWS the Conservatives could form a majority government if an election were held today.
“When you look at why Canadians feel the way they do right now, (there’s) real dissatisfaction with the direction the country is going, particularly when it comes to big issues that figure to their personal agenda,” Bricker said, citing costs. standard of living, access to housing and inflation.
“So this is a real set of economic concerns.”
– with files from David Baxter of PKBNEWS.
© 2023 PKBNEWS, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.