After Nearly a Year of COVID-19, More Canadians Say They’re Making Real Financial Progress (38%) than Not (11%)

Toronto, ON, February 10, 2021 – Despite the economic, financial and health impacts of COVID-19, more Canadians agree (38%) than disagree (11%) that they are making real financial progress, while the rest (51%) are mixed in their assessment, according to a new Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of BMO.

The K-shaped recovery, however, has laid bare some of the diverging financial experiences of certain groups: while younger people are more likely to have been impacted by job loss given the industries in which they work, those aged 18-24 (44%) and 25-34 (45%) are the most likely to say they’ve made financial progress. Those aged 45-54 (15%) and 55-64 (14%) are most inclined to disagree that they’re making progress.

On the whole, feelings of financial security appear to be improving, but once again the overall data masks the challenges that exist among a sizeable minority of Canadians: 39% say they’re more financially secure today than they were a year ago (once again led by those under the age of 35), while 22% are feeling less secure, led by Gen Xers. But COVID-19 appears to be a net drag on opinions: while 24% acknowledge their situation has improved (5% a lot/19% a little), 28% say their financial situation has worsened (7% a lot/21% a little) as a result of COVID-19.

Among the 11% who disagree that they’re making financial progress, only 29% have enough savings to get them through an unexpected emergency, 61% say the pandemic has worsened their financial situation, and 39% say they’re falling behind on their basic needs – underscoring the severity of the situation.

In fact, COVID-19 is the leading cause of financial anxiety, with 55% saying the coronavirus is causing them a lot or some financial anxiety, well ahead of other sources including: the fear of unknown expenses that may come up (43%), their overall financial situation (39%), housing costs (35%), family-related expenses (29%), keeping up with monthly bills (26%), medical expenses (22%), credit card debt (23%), student debt (13% total, 43% among those under 25).

Canadians may be piling on to their own financial anxieties as well through their behaviours. Even among those making financial progress, COVID-19 (50%), fear of unknown expenses (30%), housing costs (27%) and family-related expenses (23%) are causing anxiety. This could be informed by the fact that one in three (32%) admit to often doing things that worsen their financial position like engaging in impulse purchases or consumer debt, despite making overall progress.

The survey also found that two in three (65%) Canadians save money on a monthly basis, including 37% who put some money aside every paycheque. But Canadians encounter various barriers to saving more, including the belief that they currently don’t make enough money to put into savings after their expenses, or that they don’t set a household budget that includes savings (13%).

About the Study

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between January 8-19, 2021, on behalf of BMO. For this survey, a sample of 3,413 Canadians aged 18+ was interviewed online (2,512 Genpop + oversamples totalling 901 in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal). Quotas and weighting were employed to ensure that the sample’s composition reflects that of the Canadian population according to census parameters. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ± 2.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadians aged 18+ been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Sean Simpson
Vice President, Ipsos Public Affairs
+1 416 324 2002
[email protected]

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