Canadians are starting the New Year with confidence in the economy, job security, personal finances, and real estate prices remaining subdued.
The weekly Canadian Confidence Index from Bloomberg/Nanos posted a reading of 55.09 at the end of the year, up from 54.72 a week earlier but below the 2018 average of 56.74.
There were small increases for the sub-indexes which track confidence in the Canadian economy and real estate prices; and job security and personal finances including mortgages.
Western Canada continues to show weakness in confidence, although here too there was slight improvement week-over-week.
“Western Canadians continued to be mired in a consumer sentiment malaise with confidence noticeable lower in the Prairie provinces and BC than the rest of the country,” said Nanos Research, Chief Data Scientist, Nik Nanos.
Homeowners were more positive than renters in the latest survey.
Outlook for 2019
In a separate poll in association with the Globe and Mail, Nanos Research has found that over half of Canadians think the Canadian economy will worsen (17%) or somewhat worsen (38%) over the next year, while over three in ten think it will improve (five per cent) or somewhat improve (30%). 10% are unsure.
RT @globeandmail: @niknanos survey > Canadians expect economy will slow down in 2019: poll https://t.co/ACI10LjoFJ @GlobePolitics pic.twitter.com/7HFsG5PFVE pic.twitter.com/NT6OLJNkI8
— Nik Nanos.DataHound.Author (@niknanos) December 27, 2018
