A CBC News poll suggests 59% of Albertans are finding it difficult to meet monthly expenses as confidence in the economy weakens.
Nearly six in 10 Albertans say it is somewhat or very difficult to meet their monthly expenses, a CBC News poll suggests, marking the highest level recorded since the outlet began asking the question eight years ago.
The survey found 59 per cent of respondents are struggling with monthly costs, up eight percentage points from last spring. It also suggests broad caution around big-ticket spending, with 67 per cent saying now is a bad time to make a major purchase such as a home, vehicle or appliance.
Calgary-based pollster Janet Brown, who conducted the research for CBC News, said the findings reflect uncertainty both about the broader economy and household finances. “People are feeling uncertain about the economy. They're feeling uncertain about their own situation, and they're feeling that right now it's a time to hunker down,” Brown said.
The pressure is visible in Airdrie, where CBC News reported speaking with residents coping with higher costs. Jamieson Gardiner, who works at Airdrie’s public library, recently moved his family of four from a 1,400-square-foot home into a 900-square-foot basement suite to save money. He now walks an hour to work because his family cannot afford more than one car.
The poll suggests the burden is not evenly distributed. Among unemployed Albertans, 85 per cent said it is difficult to meet monthly expenses. Younger Albertans were also more likely than the provincial average to report trouble making ends meet, at 68 per cent. Among seniors, 46 per cent said they were having difficulty paying their bills.
Other Airdrie residents described cutting back on shopping, leaning on credit cards and managing larger grocery bills. Julia Jantzi told CBC News that rising food prices have turned shopping into a search for deals and tradeoffs, while small business owner James Simpson said feeding his family of seven has become far more expensive in recent years.
The household strain comes as more Albertans express concern about the province’s direction. The poll found 51 per cent believe Alberta’s economy is getting worse, up from 41 per cent last spring. Another 35 per cent said the economy is neither improving nor declining. CBC News reported that Albertans have not been this pessimistic about the economy since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.
The CBC News survey of 1,200 Albertans was conducted from April 7 to April 22, 2026, by Edmonton-based Trend Research under the direction of Janet Brown Opinion Research. The random survey used a hybrid phone and online method and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20; margins are larger for subsets.
Comments (0)