Confidence in the provincial economy has grown over the past year, according to the results of an Insights West survey released February 1, and this has translated into residents feeling less concerned about their own finances.
The poll found 38% of British Columbians have worried about their finances in the past couple months, down from 47% last year.
Overall, 61% said economic conditions in B.C. were “good” or “very good.” This is 15 percentage points higher than last year’s survey (46%). One-in-five respondents (22%) say they believe the province’s economy will decline over the next six months, down from two-in-five (41%) last year.
Fewer B.C. residents say they worry about their investments “frequently or occasionally” (38%, compared with 47% last year).
Despite this optimism, the vast majority of those polled—81%—said they expect the price of gasoline to increase this year, compared with 39% last year.
“Last year, gas prices were not a big worry for British Columbians,” said Insights West’s vice-president of public affairs Mario Canseco. “The proportion of British Columbians who expect to pay more for fuel has doubled in a year.”
In addition, 83% expect to pay more for groceries this year (93% in 2016).
@EmmaHampelBIV
