Canadians are rethinking their financial goals post-pandemic: poll

TORONTO – A new study has found that the pandemic provided Canadians the opportunity to rethink their financial goals, with many moving, switching careers and planning to travel.

The study, conducted by Maru Public Opinion on behalf of CIBC in early August, found that 67 per cent of Canadians are re-evaluating their priorities as COVID-19 restrictions come to an end.

The poll asked about 1,500 randomly selected Canadian adults about their financial planning habits now and over the last two years.

Those surveyed reported having made significant life decisions during the pandemic, such as 17 per cent changing jobs and 12 per cent moving to a new home.

Looking ahead, more than one-third of Canadians say they are planning to travel within the next 12 months and 13 per cent say they are planning for a large purchase.

The poll also found that more than half of Canadians say their current financial position is holding them back from making changes in their lives amid the rising cost of living and 75 per cent of respondents say they are now more focused on smaller, more practical goals.

The polling industry's professional body, the Canadian Research Insights Council, says online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2022.