Canadians’ financial confidence declined this year, according to an index of Canadians’ views, spurred by concerns over the trajectory of the economy and governments’ ability to manage the situation.

The IG Wealth Management Financial Confidence Index, released Tuesday, tracked the overall financial confidence of Canadians based on 10 survey questions related to their personal financial outlook, planning and literacy as well as trust in the economy and the current financial situation. 

The confidence index dropped to 50 in 2023, down from 51 in 2022 and 57 in 2021. 

“While Canadians are feeling relatively stable with their current personal financial situation, there are significant concerns about where things could be headed in the year ahead and in our ability to successfully navigate this uncertainty,” Damon Murchison, the president and CEO of IG Wealth Management, said in a press release. 

“This can, in part, be attributed to the apprehension felt over the last year about the cost of living, rising interest rates and intensifying global tensions.” 

Canada’s trust in the economy fell significantly, receiving a score of 40 from a previous score of 43, the release said. This stemmed from the fact that 60 per cent of respondents indicated they believe the economy is already in a recession, while 68 per cent said they believe Canada is heading for a recession in 2024. 

Adding to fears about the economy, 65 per cent of survey respondents said governments and other institutions are “not doing enough to address the fiscal issues facing the nation.”  

Optimism about economic stability hit 51 per cent in 2023, from 56 per cent a year earlier, the survey found. 

Just under 50 per cent of Canadians were found to be concerned that inflation would rise in 2024, the release said, and 20 per cent of those surveyed said they viewed the ability to keep their current standard of living as their largest concern.

WHO HAD THE MOST FINANCIAL CONFIDENCE?

Seniors were found to have the highest levels of financial confidence out of IG’s survey respondents, while confidence for Indigenous people and newcomers fell on an annual basis. 

“Among the community groups … seniors’ confidence levels remained stable at 58, while Indigenous (44) and newcomers to Canada (57) fell six and three points respectively compared with last year,” the release said. 

METHODOLGY

The 2023 results presented in this summary report are from an Ipsos survey conducted online from Sept. 26 to Oct. 2. A total sample of 2,000 respondents from across Canada participated in the survey. Weighting was applied to the total sample by age, gender, region and education level to ensure that the composition of the final sample is representative of Canada's adult population according to the latest census data from Statistics Canada. This survey has a credibility interval of +/- 2.2 per cent 19 times out of 20, of what the results would have been had all Canadian adults 18+ been surveyed.