Nearly Half of Canadians Worried They Can’t Afford Christmas Gifts: Survey

People pass a large Christmas tree as they go shopping on Christmas Eve at a mall in Ottawa on Dec. 24, 2020. Justin Tang/The Canadian Press

Nearly half of Canadians (45 percent) are concerned they might not be able to afford their Christmas gifts this year, according to a new survey.

Details of the Ipsos survey, commissioned by Global News, were released on Dec. 17.

Forty-one percent of respondents said they were anxious they would “get in over their heads” with holiday spending this year, with 40 percent saying they’ll be cutting back on spending. The figures amount to a 10-point increase over a similar poll in 2023.

The poll was conducted online between Dec. 6 and 10 among 1,001 Canadians. It found 47 percent of Canadians overall said they will be budgeting more carefully this Christmas.

Credit card debt was also a concern for many Canadians, with 43 percent saying they won’t be able to pay off their credit card debt and 36 percent worried about needing a new credit card or loan to afford holiday shopping.

For some, presents were not the main worry, as nearly four in 10 (39 percent) said they feared they wouldn’t have enough money to put food on the table this Christmas.

Inflation is one of the main reasons respondents said they were more cautious about spending.

Of those surveyed, 76 percent said holiday plans have been significantly impacted by inflation and interest rates, with 60 percent saying they can’t spend more on Christmas because of the increased price of basic necessities.

Not all Canadians are feeling the pinch, however. Four in 10 (40 percent) said they plan to spend the same amount of money as last year, which is down nine points from the previous year. Eleven percent said they will be spending more this year.

Canada’s inflation rate dropped marginally in November, according to Statistics Canada, going from 2 percent in October to 1.9 percent last month.

Grocery prices have continued to rise the fastest, outpacing overall prices, rising 2.6 percent since 2023, StatCan said.

The poll results come days after the start of the Liberal government’s two-month GST holiday, which runs from Dec. 14 to Feb. 15. The measure eliminates the federal sales tax (GST and HST) on some goods and services such as restaurant meals, groceries, alcohol, books, and some children’s products.

Ottawa said the tax break will see people save between $100 and $300 on purchases worth more than $2,000 over the next two months.

The Canadian Press and Andrew Chen contributed to this report.