Nine in Ten (90%) Canadians Intend to Spend Same (53%) or
Less (37%) on Holidays than One Year Ago

Toronto, ON - Nine in ten (90%) Canadians intend to spend the same (53%) or less (37%) on the holidays than they did last year, according to an Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of Sun Life Financial. Only one in ten (10%) say they expect to spend more this year compared to last year on the holidays.

Two in three (66%) say their current level of household debt is unimproved compared to this time last year: 50% say they have the same amount of debt, while 16% say their level of debt is higher (4% substantially/12% somewhat). Just one in three (34%) Canadians report being able to lower their level of debt, either substantially (12%) or somewhat (22%).

Furthermore, half (54%) say they are not better off financially than they were a year ago while four in ten (39%) say they are better off than last year. One in ten (7%) don't know whether their position has improved or not.

With most Canadians not improving their financial position year over year, it's interesting to note that most (64%) do not work with a financial advisor - perhaps explaining the lack of improvement for most. Just one in three (32%) Canadians do work with a financial advisor, while 4% are unsure.

Paying Down Debt As New Year's Resolution...

The New Year is around the corner and most Canadians (67%) are going into it being optimistic with only 12% being pessimistic and 21% neither about 2016 in general. With New Year's comes New Year's resolutions, and although improving their financial position appears to be a struggle for most, only 13% of Canadians say paying their debts is one of their top three New Year resolutions, with 3% saying it is their top New Year's resolution. Interestingly, slightly more (15%) Canadians say that saving money is a top three New Year's resolution with 4% saying it is their top New Year's resolution. Below are other New Year's resolutions Canadians have.

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These are some of the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted between November 5 and November 9, 2015, on behalf of Sun Life Financial. For this survey, a sample of 1,227 Canadians from Ipsos' online panel was interviewed online. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within +/ - 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadian adults 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
(416) 572-4474
[email protected]

About Ipsos in Canada

Ipsos is Canada's market intelligence leader, the country's leading provider of public opinion research, and research partner for loyalty and forecasting and modelling insights. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos employs more than 600 research professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in the country, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and online panels. Ipsos' marketing research and public affairs practices offer the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada, all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, Ipsos offers syndicated information or custom solutions across key sectors of the Canadian economy, including consumer packaged goods, financial services, automotive, retail, and technology & telecommunications. Ipsos is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

To learn more, please visit www.ipsos.ca.

About Ipsos

Ipsos is an independent market research company controlled and managed by research professionals. Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos has grown into a worldwide research group with a strong presence in all key markets. Ipsos ranks third in the global research industry.

With offices in 86 countries, Ipsos delivers insightful expertise across six research specializations: advertising, customer loyalty, marketing, media, public affairs research, and survey management.

Ipsos researchers assess market potential and interpret market trends. They develop and build brands. They help clients build long-term relationships with their customers. They test advertising and study audience responses to various media and they measure public opinion around the globe.

Ipsos has been listed on the Paris Stock Exchange since 1999 and generated global revenues of e1,669.5 ($2,218.4 million) in 2014.

Visit www.ipsos.com to learn more about Ipsos' offerings and capabilities.