This report is authored by the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC). FCAC is responsible for protecting financial consumers by strengthening the financial literacy of Canadians and supervising federally regulated financial entities, such as banks.

Report name

Consumer Vulnerability: Evidence from the Monthly Covid-19 Financial Well-being Survey

Who wrote these reports?

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) is responsible for protecting financial consumers by strengthening the financial literacy of Canadians and supervising federally regulated financial entities, such as banks. FCAC launched its Covid-19 Financial Well-being Survey in August 2020 to track the financial wellbeing of Canadians throughout the pandemic. It is a nationally representative hybrid online-phone survey run monthly, with approximately 1,000 respondents per month. The Consumer Vulnerability report provides an overview of survey results collected between August 2020 and September 2022.

Best quote

Over the past several months, financial hardships have increased for many Canadians due to the rapidly evolving economic environment.

Key takeaways:

  • Financial hardships: Since the start of the pandemic, more Canadians needed to use savings or borrow money to cover their day-to-day expenses. At times, they needed to turn to high-cost options. For example, the proportion of Canadians who used online lenders or payday loans more than tripled.
  • At-risk consumers: Although financial vulnerability can affect anyone, Canadians living on low income, Indigenous peoples, recent immigrants and women were more likely to experience negative financial outcomes from the pandemic.
  • How we can help: FCAC’s National Financial Literacy Strategy provides practical steps that financial ecosystem stakeholders can take to work together to help Canadians, especially the most vulnerable populations, build their financial resilience and achieve positive financial outcomes.

What’s in this report?

The Consumer Vulnerability report provides an overview of survey results collected between August 2020 and September 2022. The purpose of this report is to provide insight into the financial well-being of Canadians and identify which populations may be at higher risk for experiencing financial hardships.

The report includes an executive summary of the results as well as summary tables and figures that illustrate the findings on how Canadians living with low income, Indigenous Peoples, recent immigrants and women have been financially affected by the pandemic.

Why should you read this report?

It is important to understand how the personal and economic upheaval caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted the financial lives of Canadians. Research findings from this report can be used to inform the development of policies or programming designed to help people build their financial resilience.

Who is this report for?

This report is meant for everyone in the financial ecosystem who can play a role in building the financial resilience of Canadians. This includes governments and regulators, the financial services industry, financial literacy community groups and researchers and academics.

FCAC hopes this report will increase understanding of how Canadians are coping financially during this difficult time and help identify who might be in extra need of our collective support.

🔗 Read the full report here. 🔗

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