Author: Dr. Loleen Berdahl
After years of strong economic growth both nationally and provincially, western Canadians are generally bullish about the economy, with 7 in 10 giving the national economy a positive rating, 8 in 10 giving their provincial economy a positive rating, and 7 in 10 giving their local economy a positive rating. Perceptions of the national economy are roughly the same as those of the provincial and local economies.
While there is little variation amongst the provinces when it comes to rating the current state of Canada’s economy, residents of Saskatchewan (70.7%) are more likely than residents of Manitoba (59.1%) to state that the national economy has gotten better over the last five years. Saskatchewan residents are also a bit more optimistic about the next five years than their counterparts in the other western provinces, with 42.4% stating that the national economy will get better in the years ahead compared to a regional average of 33.1%.
When it comes to provincial economies, Albertans stand out as feeling the best about their province’s current economic situation, with 9 in 10 stating that conditions are excellent or good. Clearly, Albertans know a boom when they see one. Saskatchewan residents are also in a good economic mood, with 8 in 10 stating that the provincial economy is in excellent or good shape. At the other end of the continuum are Manitobans, with 6 in 10 stating that the provincial economy is doing well.
Despite the generally positive attitude, it is important to note that a significant number of westerners are negative about the economy. One-quarter feel that the current state of the national economy is best described as fair or poor and that things are likely to get worse in the next five years rather than hold steady or improve. In addition, rural residents are less likely to be in a positive mood about their local economic situation, with 4 in 10 saying that the local economy is fair or poor, while only 2 in 10 large city residents describe their local economy in less than positive terms.
At the individual level, roughly one-half of western Canadians feel that they are better off financially today compared to five years ago, about one-third feel that things are about the same and 15.4% feel that they are worse off than before. The results for how people anticipate their personal future finances are very similar.