According to a survey that was conducted in early September of approximately 2000 Canadians and then complied as part of the MNP Consumer Debt Index, which measures Canadians’ attitudes toward their consumer debt and gauges their ability to pay their bills, the number of Albertans who say life’s necessities are becoming less affordable has significantly increased since December 2021.

Nearly six in ten Albertans (58 per cent) feel that it is becoming less affordable to feed themselves and their family, while over half of those surveyed also said that transportation has become less and less affordable than in any other province in the country. Another 56 per cent of those surveyed felt said that clothing and household necessities are less affordable than in any other province. 

“Albertans are having to set aside more of their paychecks to afford basic necessities as the cost of living rises, and that is leaving less of a financial buffer to mitigate the impacts of current and future interest rate hikes,” said Donna Carson, a Licensed Insolvency Trustee with Alberta-based MNP LTD.

According to recently released statistics from the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, consumer insolvencies in Alberta rose 7.3 per cent in August over the previous month and increased 26.2 per cent compared to the same month last year.

However, it seems that fewer Albertans find themselves closer to insolvency since the last quarter (47 per cent), which is a seven-point drop. Financial insolvency means that one is $200 away or less from not being able to meet all of one's financial obligations.

“I should emphasize that nearly half of Albertans are still just $200 away from not being able to cover all of their bills and debt obligations,” Carson said. “Overall, there is less room in their budgets, and that means that any increases to interest rates or the costs of purchasing the essentials could push individuals closer to insolvency in the future.”

While Albertans are in a vulnerable financial position, there is some optimism surfacing according to MNP. Fewer are now rating their personal debt situation as terrible (18 per cent), down six points since last quarter.

“This newfound optimism we are seeing may only be temporary. The economic situation here is still evolving, and the full impact of interest rate hikes often reveals itself over time, so right now people may actually be experiencing a false sense of optimism,” Carson points out. “With that in mind, I would encourage households to be cautious with their finances for the time being. Only time will tell the full impact of the economic situation we are in.”

While the survey is only a sampling of Canadians' attitudes towards their finances, locally it has not gone unnoticed that more and more Airdronians themselves are struggling. In previous reporting, Airdrie's Food Bank said that with each passing month, more and more of the city's residents are utilizing the food bank. Last year, a HungerCount Report showed that there was a 26.9 per cent increase in Albertans accessing food banks; accounting for over 116 thousand visits in March 2021, one of the highest in the country. 

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