Original article can be found here: https://dailyhive.com/canada/canadians-struggle-afford-groceries-over-mortgage

While mortgage payments may seem like the biggest financial stress for Canadian homeowners, they’re struggling to afford daily essentials like groceries.

That’s according to new data released today from the Angus Reid Forum, in partnership with Toronto-based mortgage lender Bloom Finance.

The survey’s findings indicate that a significant number (42%) of Canadian homeowners say day-to-day essentials like groceries and gas are the main financial struggle they are dealing with, followed by unexpected expenses (20%) and mortgage payments (11%).

When the data was broken down by province, it found that Quebec homeowners have the most difficulty keeping up with unexpected expenses (25%) compared to the national average of 20%.

Meanwhile, residents in Alberta (51%) and Manitoba (50%) reported experiencing the most difficulty with the cost of gas and groceries compared to other provinces.

Gen X homeowners in Canada are impacted more by day-to-day unaffordability, as 46% of respondents over 55 said they were grappling with the high cost of groceries and gas compared to those 18 to 34 (41%) and respondents aged 34 to 54 (39%).

This news comes after the Bank of Canada (BoC) finally announced its decision to cut interest rates to 4.75% in June after six consecutive rate holds.

The BoC said its decision was based on “continued evidence that underlying inflation is easing” in the country, but many Canadians are continuing to feel intense financial pressure on their pocketbooks.

Despite the continued high cost of living, a recent report from RBC forecasts some financial relief for Canadians in the future.

“An improvement in affordability could in fact come sooner if long-term interest rates ease ahead of our central bank policy pivot and household income continues to grow at a solid clip,” stated the bank in its April report.

Still, RBC doesn’t want us to get our hopes way up. The report says that the scope for improvement in the year ahead will be small relative to the “dramatic loss of affordability” that hit Canadians during the pandemic.

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