Canadians remain optimistic overall about their financial positions, but 2015 was a rough year for the country’s economy and we are slightly less optimistic than we were a year ago.
The majority of Canadians—74%—say they feel positive about their fiscal standings, according to a CIBC poll released January 4. This is five percentage points lower than the 74% who expressed the same sentiment last year. Here in British Columbia, the drop was much smaller; this year 71% of those polled in B.C. say they are optimistic, which is down one percentage point from 72% last year.
“It’s encouraging to see that Canadians are generally optimistic about reaching their future financial goals, but confidence alone won’t get you there,” said CIBC executive vice-president Christina Kramer.
“Goals such as building up an emergency fund or paying down debt require a year-round focus, which means it needs to be more than a New Year’s resolution that fades away by February.”
The outlook for B.C. is positive for 2016, and many economists are predicting the province will see the country’s strongest growth this year. Tourism, film, agriculture, real estate and consumer spending are all expected to help drive growth above national levels.
For those Canadians outside of B.C. feeling more of a pinch than they were last year, it may be with good reason. The country’s economy shrank in the first half of 2015 and the continuing slump in the price of crude led to significant layoffs in oil-dependent Alberta, where the biggest drop in confidence was felt; the number of Albertans who feel optimistic fell from 83% to 62% – a decline of 21 percentage points.
