According to the results of a new Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of CanadaHelps, more than half of Canadians (56%) with annual household incomes below $60,000 are unsure if they can continue to afford basic needs such as food, shelter and health services, or if they will be forced to turn to charities for help. The complete findings from the Ipsos poll can be downloaded here.
Key Ipsos Poll Findings:
- While nearly one in ten Canadians (9%) currently rely on charitable services to meet daily essential needs, this figure rises to two in ten (21%) among those with household incomes less than $40,000.
- 19% of families with children at home expect to need charitable services in the next six months, while 11% of households without children report the same.
- Notably, Canadians aged 35-54 (13%) rely on charitable services slightly more than those aged 18-34 (10%) or 55+ (5%).
- More than half of Canadians (56%) with annual household incomes below $60K say they are uncertain if they will need help from charities soon for daily essentials.
- 13% of Canadians anticipate they will need charitable services within the next six months, with this number significantly higher among those aged 35-54 (23%) and those with less than $40,000 household income (30%).
Transportation and groceries among the top four expenses to be cut
When asked which expenses they would cut to meet their essential needs, a majority of Canadians said they would reduce spending on everything from leisure activities (70%), gift giving (55%), and food/groceries (29%). Other expenses likely to be cut include transportation (25%), household products (21%), essential clothing (18%), debt repayments (17%), health services such as medications or medical equipment (14%), household utilities (13%), hygiene products such as period products (10%), and on-time monthly rent and/or mortgage payments (5%).
Albertans (40%) are more likely than other areas of Canada such as British Columbia (35%), Atlantic Canada (29%), Ontario (27%), Quebec (24%), and both Saskatchewan and Manitoba (23%). Women (60%) are significantly more likely than men (49%) to reduce spending on gifts.
Canadians donating more goods than money to charity
While just under half of all Canadians (46%) reported making a financial donation to an organization or charity within the last year, more than half (52%) of Canadians donated goods such as furniture, books, clothing, etc. Other ways Canadians reported giving includes donating food (33%), donating money directly to people in need (24%), volunteering (19%), advocating for a cause by attending a protest, signing a petition, or posting on social media (16%), fundraising (8%), donating blood to Canadian Blood Services (7%), or fostering an animal (6%).
Canadians aged 55 and older are considerably more likely to donate goods (62%), money (56%), and food (39%) compared to younger Canadians.
About the Ipsos Poll
These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between November 1st and 5th, 2024, on behalf of CanadaHelps. For this survey, a sample of 1,000 Canadians aged 18 years and over was interviewed. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample’s composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ±3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadian adults been polled.