Getting the Economy One Voted For

If "budgets balance themselves" and an open admission to not knowing basic math don't send you away screaming, nothing will:

The new year is “not going to feel good,” Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said yesterday. A long-forecast recession follows another increase in the bank’s prime rate: “I don’t want to minimize the risks.”

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A new survey from Research Co. shows that most of Canadians are not happy with the current economy and that their financial status have worsened over the past six months.

As many as 62 per cent of respondents described current economic condition in Canada as “bad” or “very bad”, up five points since Research Co. conducted a similar story in July 2022. In addition, just 35 per cent of Canadians (down five points) rate the economic conditions tight now as “very good” or “good”.

When it comes to their own personal finances, 51 per cent of respondents described their personal finances as “very good” or “good,” which is down six points, while 47 per cent (up six points) defined them as “poor” or “very poor.”

Breaking down the data by province, 27 per cent of Alberta residents said they hold a positive view of the Canadian economy, while 28 per cent of Saskatchewan and Manitoba residents and 29 per cent of Atlantic Canadians said they feel the same way.

Meanwhile, 37 per cent of Ontario residents, 35 per cent of people in British Columbia and 41 per cent of Quebec respondents said they have a positive perspective towards economic condition.

Nearly half of Canadians (44 per cent) said they are pessimistic over the national economic stability and expect the national economy to decline over the nest six months while only 13 per cent predict an improvement.

“Most Canadians aged 55 and over (51 per cent) think an economic recovery in the next six months is unattainable,” Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. said. “The proportions are lower among their counterparts aged 35-to-54 (43 per cent) and aged 18-to-34 (38 per cent).”

More than half of Canadians (52 per cent) said they are worried “frequently” or occasionally” about the value of their investments and their savings safety.