Majority of Canadians fear struggle to feed families

Most Canadians worry that they won’t be able to afford food amid rising inflation and recession fears, poll shows

Majority of Canadians fear struggle to feed families
8 Dec, 2022 01:28 HomeWorld News

Majority of Canadians fear struggle to feed families

Some 42% of respondents are also worried they’ll lose their jobs if the economy doesn’t improve

Canadians are growing increasingly worried about historically high inflation and a potential recession, with more than half of adults now fearing that they won’t be able to put food on the table for their families, a new poll has shown.

A poll conducted last month by Ipsos for Global News and released on Wednesday found that 53% of Canadians are fretting about whether they will be able to afford food, up nine percentage points from just a month ago. Concern over the economy also is rising, with 86% of respondents saying they’re worried about a recession hitting Canada within the next year, up from 83% in October.

“We’re seeing quite remarkable and significant changes in such a short period of time,” Ipsos Public Affairs senior vice president Sean Simpson said. “Canadians clearly have heightened anxieties over the potential for a recession, over interest rates, over high inflation, and as a result, we’re seeing dramatic changes.”

Canada’s inflation rate rose to a 39-year high of 8.1% in June and has remained unusually high, around 7%, since then. As recently as last year’s first quarter, consumer prices were rising at annual rates of 1-2.2%. Prior to 2022, Canadian inflation had been below 5% for more than 30 years.

Nearly half of Canadians (48%) are worried about spending more than they can afford for the holiday season, up 15 points in the past month, while 52% fear they won’t be able to afford gifts for their loved ones, the poll showed. Fears also are rising sharply over job losses and fuel prices. Ipsos said 61% of respondents are worried that they won’t be able to pay for gasoline, and 42% fear they’ll lose their jobs if the economy doesn’t improve.