A new poll published by Leger shows that a majority of Canadians believe that the economy is already experiencing a recession.
When asked whether they “believe Canada is currently in an economic recession,” 57% of respondents said yes, 28% said no and 15% didn’t know.
Liberal and Bloc Quebecois voters were the least likely to believe the same with respondents polling 48% and 46% respectively.
WIth regards to the biggest issues facing Canada, inflation was the primary concern for Canadians with 21% of people ranking it as their top choice. Health care followed with 19% and climate change was in third place with 11%.
The survey was conducted online between Aug. 5 and 7, and included 1,509 Canadians over the age of 18 randomly recruited from an online panel.
A similar random sample would have a margin of error of +/- 2.52% or 19 times out of 20.
The number of Canadians who believe Canada is in a recession is slightly less than the 59% who said the same in July.
Economists are predicting that Canada will be in a recession by next year. In an RCB report, economist Nathan Janzen stated that a recession was “the most likely outcome” given current trends.
“(Recession) has become, in our view, the most likely outcome,” said Janzen.
“It doesn’t take a whole lot at that point to push you into negative GDP growth rates at some point next year, which is how a recession is defined.”
Among the causes cited by RBC were prolonged inflation, central bank policy and interest rate hikes.
“Strong domestic demand for housing and services has intensified these pressures and the labour crunch is driving wages higher,” wrote Janzen.
“Unemployment could jump by 1.5% to 6.6% as pressures continue to contract Canada’s economy.”
