Almost one-quarter of Canadians cite serious money woes: Poll

By Barry Ellsworth

TRENTON, Canada (AA) - New poll results released Wednesday says that 22% of Canadians are "completely out of money" and can't afford to pay for necessities.

The Ipsos Public Affairs poll findings are similar to another poll conducted in October, where 19% complained of money woes. In both instances, respondents said skyrocketing inflation and interest rates hikes have put the squeeze on their pocketbooks.

Those with an annual household income less than $40,000 are feeling the pinch the worst, with 35% admitting there is no money left in the cookie jar.

Another 32% say if the cost of food, clothing, housing and transportation continues to increase, they will have to pare spending even more.

And more than half of respondents (54%) said it will be hard to cope with more price hikes.

This is despite the fact inflation has slowed. It reached the pinnacle in June at 8.1% and dropped to 6.3% in December. But Canadians said they are not feeling any relief, since prices, particularly food, are still sky high.

The fear of not being able to feed the family is a major bogeyman, with 52% of respondents concerned with putting food on the table. The fear is more predominant with women and those with children.

In fact, the poll found consistently that women are more worried financially than men, with 77% saying they cannot keep pace with rising interest rates, compared to 59% of men. Wednesday, the Bank of Canada jacked up the rate again to 4.5%, the eight jump in less than a year as it tries to put the brakes on inflation.

The poll was conducted for Global News between Jan. 19-23 using a sampling of 1,001 Canadians. It is accurate within plus or minus 3.5% 19 times out of 20. Respondents were all aged 18 or older.