Statistics Canada reported Friday that 27.7% of Canadians aged 15 and older in October were living in a household that found it difficult to meet its financial needs in terms of transportation, housing, food, clothing and other necessary expenses. This proportion has been on a downward trend since the high recorded in October 2022 (35.5%).
In October, people living in rented dwellings remained more likely to experience household financial difficulties (37.0%) than those living in a dwelling owned by a household member (23.6%). The proportion experiencing difficulties was down among both renters (-2.2 percentage points) and owners (-0.7 percentage points) from a year earlier, explained the federal agency.
“Youth aged 15 to 24 (31.0%) were about as likely as core-aged (25 to 54 years old) people (30.7%) to belong to a household that found it difficult or very difficult to meet its financial needs. On the other hand, the proportion was lower among people aged 55 and older (22.5%),” noted Statistics Canada.
“The proportion of core-aged Canadians living in a household experiencing difficulties meeting its financial needs differed notably depending on household composition. For example, the proportion among couples with children (32.4%) in October was higher than among couples without children (25.3%). Among core-aged single parents, the figure rose to 46.8%.”
Unemployment can be associated with a greater risk of financial hardship. In October 2025, people aged 15 and older living in households with at least one unemployed person (46.1%) were more likely to report difficulties meeting their financial needs compared with persons living in households with no unemployed people (25.8%), said the report.
Among the 20 largest Census Metropolitan Areas, the share of people living in households experiencing financial difficulties was higher in areas of Southern Ontario where the unemployment rate was above the national average. These areas included Oshawa (37.2%), Barrie (33.7%), Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo (33.5%) and Toronto (32.3%). On the other hand, the proportion was lowest in Québec (20.0%), Montréal (23.6%), Halifax (23.6%) and Victoria (23.8%), where the unemployment rate was lower than the national average, it added.
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