A year-end poll run by Leger has found that a quarter to a third of Canadians reported spending less on holiday expenses this year than in 2021, as higher inflation and a potential recession tops the list of Canadians鈥� greatest worries for 2023.
The December Leger survey, conducted on behalf and RATESDOTCA, asked 1,526 Canadians about their holiday expenses this year, as well as Canadians鈥� impression of 2022 as a whole and their outlook for 2023.
Canadians were generally more likely to report spending around the same as last year on holiday expenses compared to those who spent more or spent less, ranging from 26-49 per cent depending on the category.
However, spending less was far more common than spending more.
A third of Canadians said they were spending less on travel this year compared to in 2021, with only 26 per cent saying they were spending around the same and 11 per cent reporting they were spending more.
Respondents could select that a category either didn鈥檛 apply to them or that they don鈥檛 know, with travel and alcohol being the two sections that had the largest chunk of these answers.
The category with the largest percentage of Canadians saying they would spend more this year was food, with 19 per cent reporting they were spending more than in 2021 鈥� still far less than the 49 per cent who said they were spending around the same and the 26 per cent who said they were spending less.
Just seven per cent of Canadians surveyed said they were spending more this year on entertainment, compared to 40 per cent who said they were spending around the same and 35 per cent who reported spending less on entertainment than in 2021.
Those aged 55 plus were generally the least likely to report spending more on any category of holiday spending this year, with those aged 18-34 being the most likely to spend more compared to 2021.
Around 15 per cent of those aged 18-34 said they were spending more on entertainment this year, for instance, compared to just two per cent of those aged 55 plus.
In general, respondents from Quebec were the least likely to report spending less than 2021 across all categories. For instance, in the category on hosting friends and family, all other provinces included had a percentage ranging from 30-35 per cent who selected that they were paying less, while only 20 per cent of respondents from Quebec selected that option.
Around 45 per cent of Albertans said they were spending less on gifts and travel this year, compared to the national average of 33 per cent for both categories.
The survey also included comparisons to 1,000 Americans who were asked the same questions.
Across the board, Canadians were more likely to report spending less on holiday spending this year than Americans. The largest difference was in entertainment spending, where 35 per cent of Canadians said they were spending less compared to just 23 per cent of Americans surveyed.
2022 VERSUS 2023 鈥� CONCERNS FOR THE FUTURE
Just under a third of Canadians surveyed reported that they found 2022 worse than 2021, with 21 per cent saying it was better and 46 per cent stating it was around the same.
There was a clear relationship between age and perception of the year. Those aged 18-34 were more likely to report it was better than 2021, at 27 per cent, and less likely to report it was worse, with 21 per cent. On the opposite end of the scale, just 17 per cent of those aged 55 plus said 2022 was better than 2021, while 35 per cent said it was worse than 2021.
However, Canadians were more likely to be optimistic than pessimistic for the overall future. Around 34 per cent said they believed 2023 would be better than 2022, with 40 per cent stating they believed it would be around the same and 22 per cent believing it will be worse.
Age played a similar role in this question, with younger Canadians showing significantly more optimism. Around 43 per cent of those aged 18-34 said they thought 2023 would be better, compared to 27 per cent of those aged 55 plus, with 15 per cent of 18-34 year olds choosing the pessimistic option compared to 27 per cent of those aged 55 years and older.
When asked what they were worried about for 2023, the five categories that garnered the most worry were higher inflation/interest rates (86 per cent), an economic recession (81 per cent), the war in Ukraine expanding (72 per cent), catastrophic weather events spurred by climate change (68 per cent), and the use of nuclear weapons (66 per cent).
When respondents were asked to choose one top worry as their greatest, 44 per cent chose higher inflation, while 31 per cent chose a recession, and 15 per cent chose weather events related to climate change.
Albertans were the most likely to select higher inflation or a recession as their highest worry, with 56 per cent and 45 per cent respectively, and the least likely to have climate change-related extreme weather as a top worry, with just five per cent selecting that option.
The province with the lowest percentage who selected higher inflation as a top worry was Quebec, at 32 per cent. Quebec also had the highest percentage of respondents who listed climate change-related weather as their top concern, at 23 per cent.
Compared to the U.S., Canadians were more likely to list weather spurred by climate change as a top concern for 2023, at 15 per cent compared to 10 per cent, and were more likely to list the expansion of the war in Ukraine as a top concern, at 11 per cent compared to four per cent.
Canadians reported higher percentages of worry across most categories compared to Americans, but more Americans reported worrying about worsening discrimination in 2023 (21 per cent compared to 17 per cent), political upheaval in their area (36 per cent compared to 30 per cent) and their civil rights being violated (48 per cent compared to 39 per cent).
METHODOLOGY
This survey was completed by 1,526 Canadians 18 years or older between December 9 and 12, 2022, using Leger鈥檚 online panel. There is no margin of error provided because an online survey is not considered a truly representative sample. For comparative purposes, though, a probability sample of 1,526 respondents would have a margin of error of ±2.5 per cent, 19 times out of 20.
With files from BNN Bloomberg
