Canadian parents having ‘sleepless nights’ amid rising cost of living: poll

With 2023 ending, a new poll suggests Canadian parents are growing more fearful about what lies ahead, as life becomes less affordable.

Their main sources of anxiety revolve around the housing crisis and trying to put food on the table, the results suggest.

An Ipsos poll commissioned by the charity Save the Children interviewed 1,000 Canadians between Dec. 8 and 13 about what they feel is the “biggest danger/risk” to children in Canada. It found 92 per cent of them are worried about the high cost of living and stubborn inflation, up seven per cent from last year.

According to the poll released Wednesday, the economic angst is making it difficult to remain optimistic. The majority of parents polled (89 per cent) are afraid for their children’s future. While most parents (63 per cent) say interest rates and inflation are keeping them up.

“Sleepless nights and intensifying worries are having an impact on the outlook of Canadians compared to last year,” said Save the Children in a statement.

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The findings echoed a recent Ipsos poll conducted exclusively for Global News.

Nearly 80 per cent of Canadians polled said high interest rates and inflation are chipping away at their holiday budgets. As a result, most shoppers planned to cut down on gifts and scale back travel plans this season.

Inflation is cooling, with the annual rate holding steady at 3.1 per cent last month and hovering close to the Bank of Canada’s two per cent target. Grocery prices have also eased, but it appears to have done little to calm financial fears about what’s in store for 2024.

The affordability crunch is also affecting the ability of Canadians to give back. Nearly a third of those polled wanted to donate to charity this year but could not afford to.

It’s not only domestic issues weighing on their minds.

The poll found most Canadians (88 per cent) believe children around the world face a more “frightening future” than they did when they were children because of challenges like climate change, hunger and war.

Eighty-four per cent of Canadians list “worsening conflicts and wars” as their top fear. Eight out of 10 people polled on the conflict between Israel and Hamas want “Canada and other leading governments to hold parties accountable for grave violations of children’s rights and uphold international humanitarian law in Gaza.”

That reflects some of the sentiments in another Ipsos poll exclusively for Global News, which found 84 per cent of Canadians worry the conflict could escalate more broadly in the region, with 81 per cent there saying they wanted to see an immediate ceasefire and almost 70 per cent saying there should be a ceasefire but with the caveat that Hamas releases the hostages.