60% of Canadians stress over personal finances, survey finds
· Toronto Sun
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OTTAWA — If your financial woes are keeping you up at night, you aren’t alone.
New polling conducted by Leger on behalf of United Way Centraide Canada (UWCC) shows financial anxiety for Canadians is on a steady increase , suggesting Canada’s cost-of-living and affordability crisis is only getting worse.
“Financial anxiety is rising all across Canada,” United Way president and CEO Dan Clement told the Toronto Sun. “And I think what’s really important is to understand that when Canadians are experiencing that financial anxiety, it actually has a real impact on their daily lives, their health, their sense of stability.”
Nearly half of Canadians are only one month away from financial catastrophe
Despite Prime Minister Mark Carney’s efforts to jump-start Canada’s stalling economy, data and lived experiences by most Canadians suggest the government’s efforts aren’t amounting to much.
Late last month, data released by Statistics Canada show Canada has entered a recession , with Canada’s economy contracting by 0.2% in the last quarter of last year — and 0.1% in the first four months of 2026.
That’s three out of the last four quarters posting negative real GDP growth, suggesting Canada’s economic engine has stalled.
According to the poll, 46% of Canadians say if they suddenly lost their job, they could only cover basic expenses for a month or less.
Twenty-seven per cent say their situation has only gotten worse over the past six months.
In all, 60% of Canadians are feeling anxiety of their finances — even though around 62% of those polled said their household income hasn’t changed much over the past six months.
“We did a similar survey last fall, and that data is up five points,” Clement said.
“The problem is getting worse.”
Government getting failing grade on public finances
As financial tensions mount, 57% of those polled say they believe the government is doing a poor job managing public finances, compared to the 32% who think otherwise.
When asked if they think the economy will get better over the next six months, 39% expect them to stay the same, 38% expect things to get worse, and only 15% said Canada’s economy will improve by the end of 2026.
Eight per cent said they didn’t know.
The hardest hit, the poll suggests, are youth, single parents and recent immigrants.
With local organizations squeezed by plunging donations and spiking demand, Clement urged Canadians who are struggling to take advantage of services to help them, available across Canada by dialing 211.
‘Not a crisis on the horizon’
The problem, Clement said, is happening right now.
“It’s not a crisis on the horizon, it’s a challenge we’re seeing today in communities all across Canada,” he said.
The proof is seen every day by the United Way and their partners, with Clement saying demand for their services has been steadily increasing.
“We’ve been hearing increase in demand, increase in needs showing up at the front door of our local community partners,” he said.
“This survey is helping us understand what’s really happening in the lives of Canadians, and how might this, and how is it affecting our frontline community services.”
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