Feeling the pinch

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This article was published 21/03/2023 (948 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Split a room of Manitobans in two — nearly half will say they’re in a worse financial position than last year, according to new Angus Reid Institute findings.

One-third believe their financial situations will be even worse next year, the non-profit’s March survey found.

“I feel like if I hope for (groceries) to become less expensive, I’m just going to be disappointed,” said Erika Sloos.

She was searching for bread at Walmart Monday. This year has brought less eating out and more grocery shopping, which is still pricey, she said.

“I’m not super doom and gloom about it, but I try and make as many of my own things as I can,” Sloos said. “It just feels like every year gets more expensive… I just anticipate it’ll get worse.”

More than half of Manitobans — 58 per cent — cited cost of living and inflation as a top issue Canada faces.

Inflation is likely why Canadians’ pessimism over their financial futures has neared a record high, according to Jon Roe, a research associate with the Angus Reid Institute.

Nationally, 47 per cent of Canadians say they’re financially worse off now compared to last year. Roughly one-third, or 31 per cent, believe their situation will worsen come 2024.

“This is… a high-water mark,” Roe said. “(Maybe) all you see has been rising grocery prices, and maybe that factors into it… You’re not too sure, ‘At what point are these price raises going to stop?’”

In January, food costs had increased 11.4 per cent compared to the year prior.

Economists have pondered whether Canada will enter a recession, which could contribute to people’s pessimism, Roe said.

“For most people, there isn’t usually a lot of financial optimism,” he said. “Rarely do people look at the next year of their financial life and say, ‘OK, yeah, things are going to get better.’”

Still, pessimism across the country is seemingly rising, Roe said. The Angus Reid Institute has asked Canadians about their financial situations since 2010.

Last quarter — at the end of 2022 — the biggest chunk of Canadians to date reported being worse off financially than the year prior (49 per cent), Roe said. The number usually hovers below 40 per cent, he added.

“It’s tough to go to the grocery store and… see the prices increase all the time,” he said, noting variable mortgage rates and rental prices have also jumped.

In February, the average one-bedroom apartment in Winnipeg was $1,284, a 9.8 per cent increase from the year prior. The typical two-bedroom rent rose 10.4 per cent, to $1,586, during the same time period, according to Rentals.ca data.

“I feel sorry for those that are on a budget — seniors, for instance,” said Susan Carriere, who picked up Advil Monday.

Shirley, a senior at Walmart Monday who declined to give her last name, said the increased prices have made it hard to live on a fixed income.

Meantime, debt has been rising.

The average debt in Manitoba last quarter was $17,073, up 1.5 per cent from the end of 2021, according to Equifax statistics.

“Mortgage debt has continued to rise,” Rebecca Oakes, Equifax Canada’s vice-president of advanced analytics, wrote in a statement.

However, the growth has slowed due to higher interest rates and fewer people buying homes, Oakes said.

Non-mortgage debt has risen, particularly for credit cards, she wrote.

Manitoba held the second highest delinquency rate of all provinces, at 1.33 per cent. People enter delinquency when they fail to pay their debt on time.

Manitoba’s delinquency rate shot up 21 per cent at the end of last year, when compared to the year prior. Even so, Manitoba’s non-mortgage delinquency rate is around 13 per cent lower than in 2019, Oakes wrote.

Just under two-thirds of Manitobans believe they’ll be in a similar or better financial position next year. Shannon Rocan is among the 22 per cent to envision better times in 2024.

“We’re doing OK,” the shopper said Monday, adding she suffered “a bit of sticker shock” while picking up chocolate bunnies for Easter.

The Angus Reid Institute conducted its online survey March 6 through 13 with 4,889 Canadians, including 532 Manitobans. A margin of error can’t be assigned to the results as it wasn’t conducted with a random sample of Canadians.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com