A new Angus Reid Institute study shows that 45 per cent of people across the country are worse off now than this time last year.
“Prices are going up across the country, and people are feeling this, when it comes to their groceries, when it comes to their gas or transportation costs, housing costs, renters. It really is, across the board,” said Dave Korzinski, Angus Reid Institute Research Director.
Half of Canadians say it’s a challenge to afford their household grocery bill, which is a seven-point increase since last October.
Saskatchewan has the lowest inflation rate in the country, sitting at seven per cent. The national average is 7.7 per cent.
One-in-three Canadians say their gas bill has increased over the past month, but nearly half say it has decreased, only because they switched to alternative transportation.
Lockdowns that have happened in recent months in China have really put a lot of pressure on the markets. The war in Ukraine has also been a factor, said Korzinski.
Three-quarters of people say their province has done a poor job of handling inflation.
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When it comes to people’s trust in the Bank of Canada, nearly half (46%) say they trust it to make good decision about inflation, while almost the same number doesn’t (41%).
“I think some of that confidence has been shaken because I don’t think central banks responded quickly enough to this rise in inflation, and they thought it would be much more temporary and it seems to be much more permanent and so they were slow off the start to try to deal with this,” said Joel Bruneau, University of Saskatchewan Economics Department Head.
The last time the inflation was this high was 39 years ago, but University of Saskatchewan economists says it’s a different kind of inflation.
“I think the economy is a lot more resilient than in the 1980s. That doesn’t mean we won’t have a recession, but the…risk of a recession is smaller,” said Bruneau.
Moving forward, Bruneau recommends people review financial options.
“Talk to your financial advisors, talk to the people at the bank, find out what your options are, find out the consequences of a big decision,” said Bruneau.
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