One in three parents worry their children won’t survive affordability crisis: report
Canadian parents are most worried about their children's ability to afford a home, with 77% expressing anxiety over this issue, followed by concerns about saving for retirement, rising food costs, and supporting their own families.
Nearly three in five (57%) parents expect to financially support their adult children, though many doubt their ability to do so, amid growing financial hardship.
This year, seven in 10 Canadian parents said they thought their children would face tougher financial challenges in life, according to a TD Bank Group survey.
The biggest area of concern for parents is the ability of their child to purchase a home (77%), followed by saving enough for retirement (57%), food costs (53%), and supporting a family of their own (49%).
Thirty-three percent of respondents said they believed the cost of living for their children would not be manageable, reported the Epoch Times.
Another 35% of parents said their children would not achieve financial independence until they were 30 years old.
Many Canadians under 35, according to the report, Whole-of-Government Five-Year Trends for Canada, are unlikely to ever afford a place to live. The report says conditions “will probably deteriorate further in the next five years.”
“The coming period of recession will … accelerate the decline in living standards that the younger generations have already witnessed compared to earlier generations,” reads the RCMP assessment.
About a third (36%) worry they will never enjoy the standard of living their parents did, with 29% of Canadians less than $200 away from insolvency.
Economists blame the Trudeau government for the “significant burden” placed on future generations. Canadians aged 16 will pay an estimated $29,663 over their lifetime in additional personal income taxes as a consequence of rising federal debt.
This follows 2023 Statistics Canada data illustrating the grave costs of inflation on household forecasts.
“Most workers have seen their purchasing power decline,” said the report Research To Insights: Consumer Price Inflation, Recent Trends And Analysis.
“Wages and earnings have not kept pace with price pressures, especially those related to food and shelter,” it added.
“Low- and middle-income households have seen large reductions in their net savings while younger households have become more leveraged,” wrote analysts.
A confidential February 23 Department of Finance poll found growing resentment against “the rich,” as most expect growing financial hardship moving forward.
Overall Canadians complained about the terrible economy, with Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland raising the national debt ceiling twice in three years.
“Here we care for one another,” she previously said, appearing aloof to the runaway debt. “We are turning to our younger generation and those who care about them to say, ‘Our government is at your service.’”
Despite promising to exercise fiscal restraint last year, Freeland warned her government could spend more money, countering advice from the Budget Officer against further spending.
Alex Dhaliwal
Calgary Based Journalist
Alex Dhaliwal is a Political Science graduate from the University of Calgary. He has actively written on relevant Canadian issues with several prominent interviews under his belt.
