Poll shows Canadians expect costs to keep going up.
As the Trudeau government hits Canadians with higher taxes (the carbon tax in particular), and slams businesses with bureaucratic regulations, Canadians are growing more and more pessimistic about their economic future and expect the cost of living to keep rising.
According to a recent Ipsos poll, Canadians expect to pay more or the same for almost everything in 2019 compared to 2018:
Additionally, more and more Canadians say they are pessimistic about their economic futures.
Currently, 16% of Canadians say their personal financial situation is ‘good,’ while 45% say it’s just ‘somewhat good.’
Notably, the number saying their financial situation is ‘good’ or ‘very good’ is down 5 points.
And that’s not the only area for concern.
As noted by Ipsos, “Canadians say their spending on necessities in 2018 increased (50%) rather than decreased (14%), that their debt increased (32%) rather than decreased (26%), that they spent less (30%) not more (27%) on discretionary items that they want but don’t need, and have less (35%) not more (31%) savings in the bank.”
Of course, this wouldn’t be a big problem if wages were growing at a decent pace, the rate of wage growth has fallen far below the rate of inflation. So, wages can’t keep up with the cost of living, resulting in Canadians becoming poorer in real terms.
Assessing the economy must be done based on many statistics and common sense perceptions, rather than just one point of data. And when we consider the rate of inflation compared to wages, the decline of investment, the poor performance of the stock market, increased economic pessimism, and the general sense that life is getting more expensive, it’s becoming clear that Canada’s economy is in trouble.
Spencer Fernando
Photo – YouTube
