Conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Global News, the survey finds that 72 percent of Canadian parents are worried about their ability to feed their families, compared to those without children at 57 percent.
Overall, four in five Canadians (85 percent) said they are worried that inflation will make things less affordable.
The findings are based on an online poll of 1,001 Canadians aged 18 and over between June 9 and June 13, at a time when people are facing rising costs across many aspects of their lives.
Canada’s inflation rate skyrocketed to 7.7 percent in May, the highest level in nearly 40 years, according to data released by Statistics Canada on June 22.
The central bank said it was ready to act “more forcefully” if needed, leading to speculation by economists that it could raise rates by three-quarters of a percentage point in July.
With interest rates increasing, anxieties are also on the rise as 80 percent of families with kids said the rates are rising quicker than they can adjust to cover their expenses, the poll said.
In addition, the survey suggested that inflation might have dampened summer travel plans for most Canadians.
Nearly 70 percent of households with children say they might not be able to afford a holiday this summer, compared to 52 percent of families without kids.
Statistics Canada’s data released on June 22 shows that Canadians paid 48 percent more for gasoline in May, compared to a year ago. Similarly, prices for traveller accommodation and food purchased from restaurants gained 40.2 percent and 6.8 percent respectively.
Finance minister Chrystia Freeland has argued that inflation is not a “made-in-Canada challenge.”
“This is clearly a global phenomenon–one driven by factors that no single country is responsible for, and that no single country can insulate itself from,” She said at a speech to the Empire Club in Toronto on June 16.
“In effect, high levels of fiscal expenditures are necessitating a crowding out of private spending. A less supportive fiscal policy would take some adjustment burden away from the private sector, but also have a much more immediate impact on inflation,” the report said.
“Doing so would allow the Bank of Canada, and central banks elsewhere, to reduce the total amount of rate increases required and shift the burden of adjustment from being entirely borne by the private sector to one that is more equitably split between the private and public sectors.”
The Ipsos poll finds that Canadians are increasingly planning to ask for higher wages or are seeking a new role or career as inflation continues to bite.
Nearly half (44 percent) of the respondents intend to ask for a pay raise later this year, with 39 percent saying they will ask for a “bigger raise than normal.”
Three in 10 (31 percent) of Canadian workers are now looking to change their jobs or careers.
The poll is considered accurate within +/- 3.5 percentage points 19 times out of 20.
