Consumer Confidence Remains Positive

OTTAWA , Dec. 4 /CNW/ - The latest Harris/Decima-Investor's Group Measure of Consumer Confidence reveals:

    
    -   In Canada, the overall measure of consumer confidence remained
        relatively unchanged since August, and now sits at 85.5. Among the
        40% of Canadians who expect their financial circumstances to change
        over the next year, those who expect improvement outnumber those who
        expect decline by about 3 to 1. In addition, a majority of Canadians
        believe there will be good times financially for the Canadian economy
        in the next 5 years.

    -   In the US, the overall confidence measure stood at 67.4, a slight
        increase from the 65.7 recorded in August. Canadians remain much more
        confident than Americans, with the gap between the two countries over
        the August and November waves being the highest since Investors Group
        and Harris/Decima began tracking Consumer Confidence in 2001.

    -   Most measures of the index remained relatively steady in the period
        from August to November. In terms of how people perceive the last
        year, 14% indicated they were better off financially compared to a
        year ago, while 27% feel they are worse off. In August, this split
        was 12%-25%.

    -   Canadians remain three times more likely to see good times
        financially for themselves a year from now than bad. 30% of
        respondents anticipate they'll be better off financially a year from
        now than they are now, while 10% say they'll be worse off. This split
        is virtually the same as it was in August, when it was 30%-9%.

    -   One in four Canadians anticipate that there will be good times for
        the Canadian economy in the coming year, while 15% had expectations
        of bad times over the next twelve months. In August, 29% anticipated
        good times, representing a 4-point drop in this time period, the most
        noteworthy change across any of the measures.

    -   A majority (58%) believe there will be good times financially for the
        Canadian economy in the next 5 years, while 31% believe there will be
        unemployment and recession over this period. In August, this split
        was 58%-28%.

    -   A majority (52%) also believe that now is a good time to make a major
        purchase. One in three (32%) believe it is a bad time to make such a
        purchase. These numbers are almost identical to the 52%-33% split
        recorded in August.
    

"Cautious optimism by Canadians indicates a balanced outlook for both the economy and their personal financial situation," said Jack Courtney , Assistant Vice-President, Advanced Financial Planning at Investors Group. "But it is also interesting to note that Canadians continue to express optimism for the longer term."

Each week, Harris/Decima interviews just over 1000 Canadians through teleVox, the company's national telephone omnibus survey. These data were gathered for two weeks from November 19 to November 29, 2009 for just over 2,000 completes. A sample of the same size has a margin of error of 2.2%, 19 times out of 20.

(C) Harris/Decima

For further information: Doug Anderson, Senior Vice-President, [email protected], harrisdecima.com; Ron Arnst, Director, Media Relations, Investors Group, [email protected]