Economics

More Than a Third of Canadians Fear a Permanent Drop in Spending

  • Quebeckers most likely to worry; B.C. residents less gloomy
  • Poll suggests virus will have long-term impact on consumers

“Sales of non-essential items could be thin gruel compared to the pre-Covid-19 world,” according to pollster Nik Nanos.

Photographer: Brent Lewin/Bloomberg
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Canadians don’t expect to be in much of a spending mood even after pandemic-related lockdowns are lifted.

More than a third of Canadians believe their discretionary spending won’t recover to pre-crisis levels after stores and businesses are reopened, according to a Nanos Research survey conducted for Bloomberg News. Just over 5% of respondents expect their purchases to increase and 54% think they’ll spend the same amount on non-essential items.