A Nanos poll commissioned by Bloomberg News found that 56% of Canadians believed that the possibility of a recession in 2020 was either ‘likely” or “somewhat likely.” 

“Canadians have a gloomy forward economic outlook for 2020 with a significant proportion believing a recession is likely,” said chairman of Nanos Research, Nik Nanos. 

“Jitters about a potential recession, regardless of the strength of the economic fundamentals can have a material negative effect on consumer spending.”

According to the poll, only 34% believed that an impending recession was “unlikely.” 

In November, the Canadian economy lost a total of 71,000 jobs because of struggling manufacturing and natural resource sectors.

Unemployment also rose last month by 0.4% bringing the national rate to 5.9%. A majority of the job losses took place in Quebec, which saw a loss of 45,000 jobs, while both Alberta and British Columbia lost 18,000 jobs. 

In comparison, the U.S. economy saw an unexpected gain of 266,000 jobs during the same period. 

Economists predict a 40% chance of a Canadian recession over the next 12 months, while the U.S. faces only a 25-30% chance of recession. 

Oxford Economics also predict that economic growth will slow down from 1.5% to 1.3% next year and that the Bank of Canada will cut interest rates twice in 2020. 

Since the great recession of 2008, Canadian private debt has grown from 150% to 220% of GDP. 

According to the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, Canada saw a 13.4% increase in insolvency for the month of October. An Ipsos survey also found that a troubling 48% of all Canadians reported that they were $200 or less away from insolvency.

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