More Canadians are finding it difficult to meet food, shelter and other necessary expenses

More and more Canadians are feeling the impact of rising prices.

Ketut Subiyanto

A report released Tuesday by Statistics Canada, the Canadian Social Survey (CSS), shows that the share of persons aged 15 and older living in a household experiencing difficulty meeting its necessary expenses trended upward from just under one-fifth (19 per cent) in the summer of 2021 to just under one-quarter (24 per cent) in the summer of 2022. By the end of 2022, more than one-third (35 per cent) of the population lived in such a household.

“In the summer of 2021, nearly half (48 per cent) of the population lived in a household that found it easy or very easy to meet its necessary expenses, and by the end of 2022 this number had dropped to under one-third (29 per cent),” said the report.

StatsCan said that in 2022, the Consumer Price Index rose 6.8 per cent, the highest increase since 1982 (+10.9 per cent). Prices for day-to-day goods and services such as transportation (+10.6 per cent), food (+8.9 per cent) and shelter (+6.9 per cent) rose the most.

It said the increase in financial difficulty is in line with findings from the Labour Force Survey showing that more than one-third of the population experienced financial difficulty in October 2022 compared with one-fifth in October 2020.

“While the trend of increasing difficulty in meeting necessary expenses was generally consistent across demographic groups and regions, some segments of the population remained more likely to experience a higher degree of financial challenges in fall 2022,” explained the federal agency. “In the fall of 2022, adults aged 25 to 54 (42 per cent) were more likely to live in a household that found it very difficult or difficult to meet its financial needs. Adults aged 15 and older looking for work (50 per cent), renters (48 per cent), recent immigrants (45 per cent) and people living with children (42 per cent) were also more likely to face this hardship.

“A higher proportion of the racialized population (39 per cent) also said their household had difficulty meeting its financial needs. Among the three largest racialized groups, Chinese (25 per cent) were the least likely to experience financial difficulty compared with South Asian (44 per cent) and Black (46 per cent) Canadians.

“Indigenous people (44 per cent) were more likely to experience financial difficulty compared with the non-Indigenous population (35 per cent). It is important to note that the data were not collected for First Nations people living on reserve, or for First Nations people, Métis or Inuit living in the territories. As a result, the differences between Indigenous people and the non-Indigenous population may not be fully captured.

“Persons with a disability, difficulty, or long-term condition (43 per cent) and the LGBTQ2+ population (42 per cent) were also among those with the most difficulty meeting their necessary expenses.”