High inflation has pushed nearly half of Canadians to drastic lifestyle changes: poll

High inflation has pushed almost half of Canadians and their families to make drastic lifestyle changes, according to a new poll.

The Maru Public Opinion survey also found one-third, or 33 per cent of those polled, say rising interest rates are pushing themselves and their family to the “brink of financial despair.”

The Bank of Canada has raised its key interest rate to 3.75 per cent over the last year. It has been raised six consecutive times this year in response to decades-high inflation.

A majority of Canadians, close to 75 per cent, are cutting back on spending, while another quarter, 27 per cent, are loading up their credit cards to pay the bills.

Despite this, 72 per cent of Canadians believe they’re financially prepared to weather a recession.

One-third said they would be relatively unaffected for a year, but 28 per cent believe they might succumb to it financially within the first month or so.

Those who are most likely to agree that high inflation has pushed themselves and their family to make drastic lifestyle changes and those who have cut back on spending to cope with higher costs of living are the youngest Canadians, aged 18-34, and those with the lowest income, less than $50,000.

This survey was conducted between Oct. 28 to 30, 2022, among a random selection of 1,528 Canadian adults who are Maru Voice Canada panellists.

The probability sample of this size has an estimated margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 per cent, 19 times out of 20