the cost of living The crisis facing Canadians is becoming more frustrating, according to a new survey that shows everything from buying a first home to buying groceries has become harder in the past year.
on Friday, ipsos The survey, conducted exclusively for Global News, revealed that four in five Canadians (80 per cent) now feel that homeownership is only for the rich. This is 11 points more than a similar survey conducted exactly a year ago in March 2023.
The perception that home ownership is the province of the rich is most widely prevalent among young Canadians. Ninety percent of Gen Z respondents (born between 1997 and 2005) and 82 percent of Millennials (born 1981–1996) said they feel the same.
However, 77 percent of Gen
Survey, conducted Following the release of the 2024 federal budget last weekshows that 72 per cent of non-owners in Canada have now “given up” on home ownership, a figure nine percentage points higher than last year’s poll.
Ipsos polling shows that four in five Canadians believe owning a home is only for the rich.
Ipsos/Global News
While the majority of respondents believe it is possible to remain financially secure without a home (71 percent), the figure is down nine percent from last year. About 36 percent said they would like to find a place to rent this year, while 14 percent said they would try to buy a home.
Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos Global Public Affairs, says this latest polling shows how “incredibly stressed” the idea of home ownership is making Canadians.
“You can see why the concern is so high, because an increasing number of people believe they need to own a home, but fewer and fewer people believe they can,” he told Global News.
Only 23 percent of those surveyed think the federal government is doing enough to address housing affordability, down four percentage points from last year.
More than half of Canadians believe the country will fail to build enough housing to meet demand, despite a promise in Budget 2024 to rapidly increase the pace of home construction in the country over the next eight years.
Nearly six in 10 (58 per cent) believe average home prices will rise in 2024, up 23 percentage points from last year, when a price correction linked to rising interest rates boosted housing markets across Canada. Was influenced.
Rising cost of living impacts savings, grocery habits
However, the overall rate of inflation has declined from a peak of 8.1 per cent in the summer of 2022 – the latest readings from Statistics Canada. Inflation recorded 2.9 percent in March – The Bank of Canada’s policy rate remains high, forcing Canadians to face higher borrowing and housing costs.
About 23 per cent of those surveyed believe the Bank of Canada will lower its benchmark interest rate this year.
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The latest inflation report also showed that annual price growth at the grocery store slowed to 1.9 percent through March, well below the double-digit readings seen at the peak of inflation.
But the Ipsos poll shows that the cumulative pinch at the grocery store is forcing many Canadians to change their shopping habits and make other financial sacrifices to make ends meet.
About 83 percent of respondents said their weekly grocery bill has increased by an average of $78.90 over the past six months.
Low-income households are typically seeing larger cost increases when it comes to trips to the grocery store, the survey said. One-third of those earning less than $40,000 say they are spending $51-$100 more per week, compared with one in five households earning between $60,000 and $100,000.
Coping with the high cost of living ranges from relying on sales to cutting back on other areas of the household budget.
Some 61 percent said they are looking at flyers for sales (up 13 percent from last year), 34 percent said they have switched to a cheaper grocery store (up seven percent from 2023), and nearly a third Respondents said they were buying less meat and fresh fruits and vegetables. Eleven percent of respondents said they were accessing food banks.
Metro Inc. officials said during the grocery’s earnings call Tuesday that despite the decline in food inflation, The macroeconomic picture is still weighing on consumersInspired him to do business at the grocery store.
Bricker says Canadian politicians should stop focusing on inflation when they talk to Canadians about the cost of living, because headline price figures do not necessarily translate into real pressures facing households. .
“Whether inflation is up or down is not as relevant as what you experience in your daily life. And nothing can be more fundamental than shopping for your groceries,” he says.
Meanwhile, 61 percent are also eating out less (up 13 percent from 2023) and 53 percent are putting off purchases like new clothes (also up 13 percent from last year). Nearly one in 10 of those surveyed said they had delayed or not renewed a medical prescription because of cost-effectiveness concerns.
With a larger portion of the monthly budget going to living expenses, some Canadians have less to put into savings – some 21 per cent said they are holding off on retirement savings as life has become more expensive, Six percentage points higher than March 2023.
Some 29 percent said they have dipped into their personal savings to meet expenses, while 15 percent have used money set aside for retirement.
Bricker says the burden of addressing affordability and housing issues isn’t just on the federal government, but an Ipsos poll released exclusively to Global News earlier this week shows that Budget 2024 Prime Minister Justin Failed to move the needle for. Trudeau’s Liberal Party, which now trails the Conservative Party by 19 points in the polls.
Bricker says he believes the primary response to the rising cost of living crisis is going to be “political,” because the message so far from policymakers about how they are dealing with the economic challenges has resonated with Canadians. Doesn’t seem true. ,
“They are looking for someone to take action. They’re looking for someone to blame,” he says.
“I think our current politicians have a lot of work to do to convince Canadians that they should be re-elected.”
These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted by Global News between April 17 and 18, 2024. For this survey, 1,001 Canadians over the age of 18 were interviewed. Quotas and weighting were used to ensure that the composition of the sample reflected the Canadian population according to census parameters. The accuracy of Ipsos online polls is measured using credibility intervals. In this case, the survey is accurate to within ±3.8 percentage points, 19 out of 20 times, of all Canadians over the age of 18 who were surveyed. Credibility intervals between subgroups of the population will be wide. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to, coverage error and measurement error.