The mood across Canada is decidedly gloomy when it comes to the national economy. A new poll by Leger, released this week, found that nearly two-thirds of Canadians 61 percent consider the country’s economic performance to be poor. More troubling still, 43 percent of respondents expect conditions to get worse over the next six months, while only 15 percent hold any hope for improvement.
The findings land at a moment when the numbers themselves back up the public’s unease. Statistics Canada reported on May 29 that real GDP held flat in the first quarter of 2026, following a contraction in the final quarter of 2025 a stretch marked by softening exports and shrinking household savings. That’s not the kind of data that inspires confidence.
Not all provinces share the same shade of grey, but none are exactly sunny.
Ontario residents came out as the most downbeat of any province. Sixty-three percent of Ontarians rated their provincial economy as “poor” or “very poor,” with just 32 percent willing to call it “good” or “very good.” Given that Ontario anchors so much of the country’s economic activity, that skepticism carries weight.
In Alberta, the trend is moving in the wrong direction. Six months ago, 51 percent of Albertans rated the province’s economy poorly. That figure has since climbed to 58 percent a seven-point deterioration that reflects growing anxiety about the province’s economic footing. British Columbia isn’t far behind, with 57 percent of residents describing their provincial economy in negative terms.
Here’s where the data takes an unexpected turn.
Despite the national gloom, most Canadians say their own household finances are actually holding up. Sixty percent reported their personal financial situation as “good” or “very good” a notable contrast to how they feel about the broader economy. It’s a classic disconnect: things may feel dire in the abstract, but at the kitchen table, many families are still keeping the lights on.
That said, optimism about the future is in short supply. Roughly half of Canadians 51 percent expect their finances to stay roughly the same through the rest of 2026. A quarter anticipate things will worsen. Only 16 percent believe their situation will improve.
At the provincial level, the three largest economies Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia all lagged behind the national average when it came to personal financial well-being. Albertans fared worst among the three, with only 52 percent rating their household finances positively and 46 percent describing them as poor. Ontarians came in at 55 percent positive and 40 percent negative, while B.C. residents registered a slightly better 57-to-38 split.
When Canadians were asked what worries them most about the economy, rising inflation topped the list cited by 39 percent of respondents, up seven percentage points since January. Close behind were concerns about health care (38 percent) and housing affordability (37 percent), issues that have been fixtures in the national conversation for years.
Tariffs ranked fourth at 23 percent, a number that reflects ongoing trade tensions but hasn’t yet broken into the top tier of everyday concerns for most households.
The most striking jump, however, belongs to gas prices. Back in January, only 3 percent of Canadians flagged escalating fuel costs as a top concern. By the time this survey was conducted from June 5 to 8 that number had rocketed to 19 percent. And when asked more directly, 72 percent of Canadians across the country said rising fuel costs are burdening their household budgets.
That strain is particularly acute in the Prairie provinces, where distances are vast and personal vehicles are less of a luxury and more of a lifeline. Seventy-six percent of Saskatchewan and Manitoba residents and 75 percent of Albertans said fuel prices are affecting them significantly. The figure was 74 percent in Ontario, dropping to 69 percent in B.C. and 63 percent in Quebec.
Housing, meanwhile, remains a stubborn pressure point one the survey authors specifically flagged as an ongoing concern that shows no signs of fading from Canadians’ financial anxieties.
There’s a paradox buried in these numbers: Canadians largely feel the economy is struggling, expect it to keep struggling, and are watching their cost-of-living creep upward yet the majority still describe their personal finances as manageable, at least for now.
That gap between macro-level despair and household-level resilience may be narrowing, though. With inflation back on the rise, fuel costs accelerating, and GDP growth essentially stalled, the buffer many families have maintained could be tested further as 2026 wears on.
The Leger poll surveyed 2,620 Canadians aged 18 and older online.
