Ahead of Freeland's fiscal update, how are Canadians feeling about finances?
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be releasing the federal fall economic update next week, promising an affordability-focused package, amid persisting inflation. Ahead of that revised look at Canada's books, a recent survey from Nanos Research suggests most Canadians aren't feeling positive about their finances.
According to Nanos' weekly for Bloomberg News, when it comes to Canadians' personal finances, 48.4 per cent of respondents said they feel worse off than they were last year.
Just 12.7 per cent of Canadians surveyed said they consider themselves better off now, while 37.3 per cent said they're feeling no change in their economic situations in the last year.
"That's almost four times as likely to say that they're worse, than better off," said Nanos Research founder Nik Nanos in the latest episode of Â鶹´«Ã½' Trend Line.
The most notable aspect to these figures according to Nanos, is that the number of Canadians who said they feel better off, "has not been this tepid, weak, low" since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 when many weren't sure about whether they'd be able to keep paying the bills.
"So that's really not good news for the incumbent government, because people are saying, 'hey, you know what, I'm worse off now than I was a year ago,'" Nanos said.
Similarly, the majority of respondents — 51.8 per cent – consider the Canadian economy to be weaker now, while just 11.6 per cent of those surveyed assessed this country's financial situation as stronger than this time last year.
Facing questions in recent days about what may or may not be included in the Nov. 21 fiscal snapshot, Freeland has declined to offer any hints or previews, but given the Liberals' recent focus on finding federal savings and a slowing economy, it is not expected to be a big-spending package.
"Our government absolutely recognizes the challenging macroeconomic environment," Freeland told reporters in Ottawa on Nov. 7. "Every single Canadian is facing real challenges when it comes to the cost of living. Every single Canadian is facing real challenges when it comes to housing."
"The macroeconomic environment with elevated interest rates and the impact they're having on growth is of course consequential for the federal government," Freeland said.
"What we are going to do in dealing with this challenging global macroeconomic environment is what we have always done, which is work really hard to find a balance between the necessary and essential investments in Canadians… and at the same time, to maintain the fiscal responsibility which is foundational for Canada."
Setting up his expectations for the fall economic update, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh told reporters in Toronto on Wednesday that he wants the statement to focus on housing and food costs.
"We want to see investments to make housing more affordable, not just any old housing. We need homes that are affordable," Singh said. "We also need action to bring down the price of groceries."
For months, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has been calling on Freeland to put an end to Liberal "inflationary spending," and present a plan to get the federal budget back to balance, something the last budget projected wouldn't be happening before 2028 at the earliest.
Speaking to what specifically he wants to see out of Tuesday's fiscal update, Poilievre told reporters on Friday he wants the Liberals to squash plans to increase the carbon tax, bring down interest rates and inflation by balancing the budget, and adopt his proposal to "build homes, not bureaucracy."
Watch the full episode of Trend Line in our video player at the top of this article. You can also listen in our audio player below, or wherever you get your podcasts. The next episode comes out Wednesday, Nov. 29.
Methodology: Random telephone survey (land- and cell-lines) with 1,097 Canadian consumers aged 18 years and over, ending Nov. 10, 2023. The data is based on a four-week rolling average where each week the oldest group of 250 interviews is dropped and a new group of 250 is added. A random survey of 1,097 Canadian consumers is accurate 3.0 percentage points, plus or minus, 19 times out of 20.
IN DEPTH
Jagmeet Singh pulls NDP out of deal with Trudeau Liberals, takes aim at Poilievre Conservatives
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has pulled his party out of the supply-and-confidence agreement that had been helping keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberals in power.
'Not the result we wanted': Trudeau responds after surprise Conservative byelection win in Liberal stronghold
Conservative candidate Don Stewart winning the closely-watched Toronto-St. Paul's federal byelection, and delivering a stunning upset to Justin Trudeau's candidate Leslie Church in the long-time Liberal riding, has sent political shockwaves through both parties.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Police have arrested a Toronto woman in connection with three recent homicides and investigators say that they believe two of the victims may have been 'randomly targeted.'
NDP house leader laments 'agents of chaos' in precarious Parliament
NDP House leader Peter Julian says there's more his party wants to do in Parliament before the next election, but if the current dysfunction continues it will become a factor in how they vote on a confidence measure.
Former Colorado county clerk Tina Peters sentenced to 9 years for voting data scheme
A judge ripped into a Colorado county clerk for her crimes and lies before sentencing her Thursday to nine years behind bars for a data-breach scheme spawned from the rampant false claims about voting machine fraud in the 2020 presidential race.
A teen charged with the murder of another teen on Prince Edward Island last year has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter.
The jury tasked with determining if Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard sexually assaulted a young woman in northeastern Ontario eight years ago began deliberating Friday after nearly two weeks of testimony that saw the singer and his accuser give starkly different accounts of what happened.
A northeastern Ontario jury has started deliberating in Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard's sexual assault trial, we can now tell you what they weren't allowed to hear.
At least two people are dead and others are injured after a fire ripped through a century-old building in Old Montreal early Friday morning, sources told Noovo Info.
Canadian family stuck in Lebanon anxiously awaits flight options amid Israeli strikes
A Canadian man who is trapped in Lebanon with his family says they are anxiously waiting for seats on a flight out of the country, as a barrage of Israeli airstrikes continues.
Yazidi woman captured by ISIS rescued in Gaza after more than a decade in captivity
A 21-year-old Yazidi woman has been rescued from Gaza where she had been held captive by Hamas for years after being trafficked by ISIS.
Local Spotlight
Chantal Kreviazuk is set to return to Winnipeg to mark a major milestone in her illustrious musical career.
From the beaches of Cannes to the bustling streets of New York City, a new film by a trio of Manitoba directors has toured the international film festival circuit to much pomp and circumstance.
A husband and wife have been on the road trip of a lifetime and have decided to stop in Saskatchewan for the winter.
The grave of a previously unknown Canadian soldier has been identified as a man from Hayfield, Man. who fought in the First World War.
A group of classic car enthusiasts donated hundreds of blankets to nursing homes in Nova Scotia.
Moving into the second week of October, the eastern half of Canada can expect some brisker fall air to break down from the north
What does New Westminster's təməsew̓txʷ Aquatic and Community Centre have in common with a historic 68,000-seat stadium in Beijing, an NFL stadium and the aquatics venue for the Paris Olympics? They've all been named among the world's most beautiful sports venues for 2024.
The last living member of the legendary Vancouver Asahi baseball team, Kaye Kaminishi, died on Saturday, Sept. 28, surrounded by family. He was 102 years old.
New data from Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley shows a surge in supply and drop in demand in the region's historically hot real estate market.