Manitobans keep close eye on their budgets

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This article was published 01/12/2023 (649 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As Canada’s economy slows and the holidays approach, many Manitobans are paying extra mind to their budgets.

“Everything is just so expensive,” said Alanis Somers.

She has family birthdays upcoming. Instead of buying three to four presents per person, Somers expects to gift one each.

And if it’s a toy, it’s coming from the clearance aisle.

“(It’s) like you can’t survive, even if you get paid good,” she said while grocery shopping Thursday.

Nearly two-thirds of Canadians — 61 per cent — have cut back on discretionary spending in recent months, a new Angus Reid Institute poll found.

Fifty-five per cent of the non-profit’s 2,164 respondents said they’d spend less than usual on the holidays this year.

The poll results came as Statistics Canada released data on Canada’s gross domestic product, which dropped 0.3 per cent when comparing last summer to spring.

Statistics Canada does not release provincial GDP data on a quarterly basis.

Unique Bunny, a beauty shop, has seen more people buying items but spending less overall.

“They count basket size in business,” noted Fiona Zhao, the shop’s owner.

She pulled out the records for her Pembina Highway location — spending per customer decreased roughly 20 per cent in October compared to the year prior. It increased a bit in November, she added.

Wendy Waters is experiencing the opposite. Fewer people than years past are entering Out of the Blue, her boutique. Those who do are spending more, she said.

She’s feeling “cautiously optimistic” about the holiday season.

“I think people are shopping intentionally,” she said. “That pressure, I think, has created a pressure for small shops to… purchase intentionally.”

Shops found ways to stand out during the COVID-19 pandemic; that’s coming into play again as people act thoughtfully on where they spend their dollars, Waters said.

She stocks items not available on Amazon or other major retailers, she added — often, she can’t compete with the price.

“When (our customers) come into a small store, they understand the difference… and that allows us to be different,” she said.

Business optimism in Manitoba is highest across the country, a Canadian Federation for Independent Business survey found.

However, confidence is still historically low.

“(Entrepreneurs) do realize that consumers are feeling the pinch this year,” stated SeoRhin Yoo, the CFIB’s policy analyst for the Prairies and the North. “They’re also facing things like the CEBA (Canada Emergency Business Account) repayment deadline… alongside rising costs of doing business.”

The CFIB feels the federal government’s recent fall economic statement comes short on helping small businesses with ongoing struggles, Yoo added.

Small Business Minister Rechie Valdez pointed to the government’s promises to reduce credit card fees by working with relevant companies and its new money allotted for residential construction.

Businesses worried about the CEBA loan repayment will have three years to pay in full with a low borrowing cost, Valdez said. Companies applying for refinancing will have their deadline extended to March 28, 2024.

“I recognize things are challenging,” Valdez said. “The rising cost of everything, it feels very difficult.”

Cost of living is Manitobans’ top concern, the holiday-inspired Angus Reid poll outlined.

Inflated food prices and higher interest rates will cause many Manitobans to reduce their holiday spending, noted Fletcher Baragar, a University of Manitoba economics professor.

Still, in general, Manitoba’s economy is likely faring well compared to the national picture, he added.

“When the Canadian economy is slowing down, Manitoba slows down, but… not to the same degree,” he said. “It’ll be sort of a slow, stagnant economy.”

Manitoba’s unemployment rate — 5.2 per cent — is the third lowest among provinces, and its average weekly earnings have increased more than the national average.

Average weekly earnings in the province came to $1,115, up 4.7 per cent, according to Statistics Canada data.

“All of that sort of looks good, but the food prices are still high and the borrowing costs are also still high,” Baragar noted.

He expects neither to decrease “any time soon.”

A Retail Council of Canada survey released last month found shoppers plan to spend an average $162 more this year than last due to inflation.

The Angus Reid Institute conducted its poll from Nov. 27 through 29. As the survey was not conducted with a random sample of Canadians, no margin of error can be ascribed to the results.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com