(Calgary) A survey of the MNP insolvency firm suggests that the perspectives of Canadians concerning their personal finances have improved, even if they have taken measures to reduce their expenses in a context of economic turbulence.
Posted at 4:04 p.m.
The latest index of MNP consumption debts, produced by Ipsos and published on Monday, increased nine points compared to the last quarter to reach 88 points this quarter.
About three -quarters of those questioned have reduced their expenses or postponed significant purchases due to uncertainty surrounding American customs duties and their potential impact on the global economy, the report published on Monday.
“The two successive declines in interest rates by the Bank of Canada during the year stimulated the optimism of the Canadians with regard to their personal finances,” said Grant Bazian, president of MNP.
“Even if uncertainty remains compared to American customs tariffs, Canadians still remain a little confident in the future due to the tango of announcements – one day it is said that there will be, the next day that there will be none – because we still do not know the consequences of prices on the household budget. »»
Some 60 % of respondents say they are concerned about the possibility of an increase in interest rates.
However, the proportion of those who feel better prepared to face an increase in a percentage point has increased by four points to 24 %, while those who feel less prepared have decreased by six points to 21 %.
“The drop in interest rates and the adjustments that Canadians have already brought to their budget seem to give them a certain respite on the financial level,” said Bazian.
More than half of the respondents said they feared themselves in financial difficulty if the rates increased, 38 % of them saying that an increase could lead them to bankruptcy.
The MNP survey indicates that 44 % of Canadians are preparing for an increase in housing costs over the next year; A much more widespread feeling among tenants than in owners.
Just over half of people earning less than $ 40,000 per year expect an increase in housing costs, compared to a third of those earning $ 100,000 or more per year.
“More than four million mortgage loans, or around 60 % of all mortgages underway in Canada, will be renewed by the end of 2026 at possibly higher rates,” said Bazian.
“This is an example of an increase in housing costs that people cannot afford on the verge of insolvency, especially in the context of current economic uncertainty. »»
In the provinces
MNP data by province show a similar feeling, two thirds to three-quarters of those surveyed indicating that they have reduced their expenses or postponed significant purchases.
In Quebec, 73 % of respondents say they have reduced their expenses. There are also many – 81 % – to say that economic uncertainty has encouraged them to think twice before contracting a new debt. But 55 % of Quebecers believe they can assume their subsistence costs without borrowing more in the coming year.
Frédéric Lachance, an authorized insolvency trustee of MNP in Montreal, observes in data that “Quebecers take matters into their own hands to reduce their expenses and their use of credit for the financial difficulties that take shape on the horizon”.
If fewer people that before say they are $ 200 or less that they cannot pay their financial obligations at the end of the month, they remain 48 %.
“These people with no safety nets may experience difficulty assuming the costs of subsistence or housing costs, or to have a loss of income,” explains Mr. Lachance.
It is also in Quebec that respondents expect more housing cost, 51 %, for example 32 % in New Brunswick and 45 % in Ontario.
Ipsos compiled data from interviews with 2,000 Canadians between March 11 and 14. The Canadian Research and Intelligence Council specifies that a margin of error cannot be attributed to online surveys, as they do not carry out a random sampling of the population.
