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80 per cent of Albertans believe province is in recession: study

Pollara Strategic Insights released its annual Economic Outlook study this past week
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A recent study suggests the majority of Albertans believe the province is currently in a recession. (File photo by The Associated Press)

The majority of Albertans believe the province is in a recession, according to a new study.

Pollara Strategic Insights’ Economic Outlook for 2023 suggests 80 per cent of Albertans feel there is currently an economic recession, while 10 per cent feel this is a period of growth.

Nationally, 83 per cent of Canadians believe the country is in a recession, while 10 per cent feel it is a period of growth.

The study was conducted from Dec. 8-20 through an online survey of a randomly-selected sample of 4,020 adult Canadians. In Alberta, 451 people responded to the survey.

Twenty-six per cent of Albertans surveyed said they expect job losses for themselves or a member of their immediate family within the next 12 months. Nationally, 20 per cent of people are concerned about job security for themselves or a family member.

The Pollara Strategic Insights study states Canadians are “the most pessimistic about the economy” they have been in 14 years.

“Worried” is the emotion used most by Canadians when they describe how they feel about the economy, the study suggests, with 56 per cent of Canadians expecting the economy to worsen in 2023 – 14 per cent said they expect it to improve this year.

When it comes to personal finances, 38 per cent of Canadians said they felt they were losing ground, which is a 13 percentage-point increase from the 2022 outlook study.

“Though Canadians are not quite as negative about their personal finances as about the country’s economy, the majority (52 per cent) are worried about their financial situation, up from 41 per cent last year,” the study states.

“The cost of food is the largest stress point for Canadians, with 46 per cent considering it a major source of stress. This is followed by housing expenses (34 per cent) and the cost of gas at the pump (30 per cent).”

NDP finance critic Shannon Phillips said “Albertans are working harder and harder” but falling further behind under the United Conservative Party government as costs continue to rise.

“Albertans are struggling to put food on their table and keep the lights on, but the UCP has made a bad situation worse by increasing costs,” said Phillips.

“While they’ve offered some help, their programs are poorly thought out and half measures that fail to make a real difference.”



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