Canadians remain pessimistic about the state of the economy and their personal finances, according to the latest survey of consumer sentiment.
The Canadian Maru Household Outlook Index for May improved slightly from April’s record low sentiment but found that consumers still have a negative outlook on the economy.
The survey looks at topics related to the economy, personal finance, purchasing power and financial challenges.
A total of 41% of Canadians said they believe the economy will improve over the next 60 days, up from 35% a month earlier, though a majority still said they don’t believe any improvement will happen soon.
More Canadians also said they believe the economy is headed in the right direction, up five percentage points to 39%, the highest level of positivity since May 2022. However, most people still feel the economy is headed in the wrong direction.
There was also an increase in Canadians who said they plan to invest in financial markets, up to 32% from 27% in April.
The biggest negative seen in May was the larger number of people who said they are not able to put money away for retirement, up to 56% from 53% a month earlier.
However, fewer Canadians reported being worried about losing their job, but more were concerned about the possibility of a loan or mortgage default.
Maru Public Opinion’s survey was undertaken between April 28 and May 1 of this year and involved a random selection of 1,508 Canadian adults who were online panelists.
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