OTTAWA —
A new poll suggests Canadians are looking for ways to cut back on spending as their concerns about the cost of living rise alongside headline inflation rates.
Four-fifths of respondents to the Leger poll had started or planned to buy cheaper items at the grocery store to save on food bills, and cut back on how much food they throw out to stretch every dollar.
Some three-quarters of respondents told the firm they planned to cut spending on household items and eat from local restaurants less frequently.
About one in two were already using their vehicles less to save on gasoline as prices at the pumps get pushed ever higher and a further one in five respondents planned to do the same in the near future.
Almost one-third were looking at buying an electric vehicle.
Overall, four-fifths of respondents said inflation was having a serious impact on their households, and the financial squeeze may only worsen as inflation rates are expected to go even higher.
The poll of 1,515 Canadians was taken between March 11 and March 13, but cannot be assigned a margin of error because online panels are not considered truly random samples.
Statistics Canada reported this week that the annual inflation rate in February was 5.7 per cent, a year-over-year increase in the consumer price index not seen in 31 years.
The headline rate is expected to rise closer to six per cent by the time March’s figure is calculated as Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine spikes global prices for oil and wheat.
Christian Bourque, Leger’s executive vice-president, said inflation and the situation in Ukraine have become top concerns for Canadians, supplanting COVID-19.
RBC Economics estimates that higher oil prices could cost Canadian households about $600 more per year, or $10 billion overall, to buy the same amount of gasoline that they did just a few weeks ago.
Hit hardest will be low-income households that typically spend a larger share of their income on necessities like food and energy.
“For them, increased costs will be largely unavoidable,” the RBC report said. “With government pandemic supports rolling off, any accumulated pandemic savings will quickly erode.”
Planning to drive less may only help at the margins of household finances, Bourque said, noting suburban workers will still have to commute as more employers push ahead with return-to-office plans.
He said there could also be negative effects on public health if, as the poll suggests, Canadians eschew higher priced fruits and vegetables for less healthy, but less expensive, options.
The health of household finances is also of concern, Bourque said.
While two-thirds of respondents to the Leger poll said their household finances were in good shape, almost as many noted that their earnings hadn’t kept up with the pace of price increases, creating a gap in purchasing power.
“Something has to give,” Bourque said.
“For me, the biggest worry is how will that, in fact, influence people’s capacity to pay all of their bills.”
In a bid to tame inflation rates, the Bank of Canada this month raised its key interest rate to 0.5 per cent, marking the first hike since it slashed the trendsetting rate to an emergency low at the onset of the pandemic.
Governor Tiff Macklem foreshadowed more hikes to come, and economists expect the next jump to land in mid-April at the bank’s next scheduled interest rate announcement.
By raising rates, the cost of borrowing goes up, and may cool consumer demand for a variety of goods, including homes and cars, as well as the pace of price increases.
In its updated outlook this week, TD Economics forecasted that inflation rates should gradually slow over the course of this year, but likely won’t get to the central bank’s two per cent target until the middle of next year.
Almost nine in every 10 respondents to the Leger survey expected interest rates to rise, with one-third of those expecting significant jumps over the next six months.
Among respondents, almost two-thirds said rising interest rates would be a serious problem for their household to manage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 18, 2022.
Health Canada has authorized Novavax’s updated COVID-19 vaccine that protects against currently circulating variants of the virus.
The protein-based vaccine, called Nuvaxovid, has been reformulated to target the JN.1 subvariant of Omicron.
It will replace the previous version of the vaccine, which targeted the XBB.1.5 subvariant of Omicron.
Health Canada recently asked provinces and territories to get rid of their older COVID-19 vaccines to ensure the most current vaccine will be used during this fall’s respiratory virus season.
Earlier this week, Health Canada approved Moderna’s updated mRNA COVID vaccine.
It is still reviewing Pfizer’s updated mRNA vaccine, with a decision expected soon.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version erroneously described the Novavax vaccine as an mRNA shot.
HALIFAX – The federal Fisheries Department says an endangered North Atlantic right whale has become entangled in gear in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
The department says the whale was sighted Wednesday by a Transport Canada aerial surveillance team northeast of the Gaspé Peninsula, off Anticosti Island.
Officials say it’s not known what type of gear has entangled the whale or where the gear came from.
Based on observation, experts at the New England Aquarium have confirmed the whale is a female known as Chiminea.
The department says it is continuing to monitor the area and if the whale is located and conditions allow, efforts will be made to disentangle the animal.
Last October, the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium estimated there were 356 North Atlantic right whales left on the planet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Canadian pop icon Nelly Furtado has been named one of three headliners for the opening ceremony of the upcoming Invictus Games.
Furtado, from Victoria, will share the stage with alt-pop star Roxane Bruneau of Delson, Que., and American singer-songwriter Noah Kahan.
They’ll be part of the show that opens the multi-sport event in Vancouver and Whistler, B.C., in February.
The Invictus Games sees wounded, injured, and sick military service members and Veterans compete in 11 disciplines.
The Vancouver Whistler 2025 Games will be the first of seven editions to feature winter adaptive sports, including alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, skeleton and wheelchair curling.
British Columbia’s Lower Mainland will host the Invictus Games from Feb. 8-16.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
