As the country grapples with rising living costs and inflation, a new report reveals that for the sixth consecutive year, money remains the primary source of stress for Canadians, particularly for younger Canadians.
According to a survey conducted by Leger on behalf of FP Canada, almost half of young Canadians (49 per cent) aged between 18 and 34 are the most stressed about money while 46 per cent of have encountered mental health challenges as a result.
On the other hand, Canadians aged 65 and above say they experience relatively lower levels of money-related stress compared to other age groups, with 28 percent reporting financial stress.
However, the survey findings indicate that money-related concerns are not limited to younger Canadians alone. In fact, 40 percent of over the 2,000 Canadians surveyed expressed significant money-related stress and concerns in 2023. This represents a two per cent increase compared to 2022.
The survey highlights the widespread impact of financial challenges on the overall well-being of Canadians and that a substantial portion of Canadians (36 per cent) experienced the negative impacts including anxiety, depression, and mental health challenges of financial stress.
Nearly half of Canadians (48 per cent) said they have lost sleep due to financial worries in 2023. This marks a five per cent increase compared to 2022.
“Canadians continue to struggle with their financial picture, and financial stress can have a significant impact not only on financial well-being, but also on mental health,” FP Canada president & CEO Tashia Batstone said in a press release.
The survey also found 48 per cent of Canadians have less disposable income compared to a year ago, a substantial increase from 2022 (39 per cent).
Furthermore, 35 per of Canadians said that they are struggling to save money for retirement while 32 per cent said they’re experiencing the same with saving for a major purchase. The proportion is higher (50 per cent) among Canadians aged 18-34.
The survey also found that Canadians who work with a financial planner are less prone to money-related stress compared to those who don’t work by 31 per cent and 40 per cent respectively.
Likewise, 38 percent of individuals who work with a financial planner reported losing sleep over financial concerns, compared to a higher percentage of 49 percent among those who do not seek professional financial guidance.
According to the survey, one in four Canadians who use a financial planner reported they don’t have any financial regrets, compared to 17 per cent who don’t have a financial planner.
METHODOLOGY
This survey was conducted online involving 2,004 Canadian between March 29 and April 7, 2023 using Leger’s online panel. The results are considered accurate within plus or minus 2.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
Reporting for this story was paid for through The Afghan Journalists in Residence Project funded by Meta.
CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.
It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.
The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.
TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.
The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.
“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”
Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.
BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.
The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.
BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.
It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.
The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”
Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. trimmed its financial guidance as it reported its second-quarter revenue fell compared with a year ago.
The luxury clothing company says revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 29 totalled $267.8 million, down from $281.1 million in the same quarter last year.
Net income attributable to shareholders amounted to $5.4 million or six cents per diluted share, up from $3.9 million or four cents per diluted share a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, Canada Goose says it earned five cents per diluted share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 16 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
In its outlook, Canada Goose says it now expects total revenue for its full financial year to show a low-single-digit percentage decrease to low-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a low-single-digit increase.
It also says it now expects its adjusted net income per diluted share to show a mid-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a percentage increase in the mid-teens.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
