IG Wealth Management says their 2020 Financial Confidence Index, composed in partnership with Ipsos Canada, indicates Canadians are showing confidence when it comes to their personal finances during this year of COVID. The Index remains unchanged at 60 from the mid-year update conducted in May. It’s actually up four points from the 2019 edition. Confidence levels are up or remained consistent across all regions.

Canadians reported feeling increased confidence in their ability to pay off their credit cards every month, having money left over at the end of the month, less concern that their finances control their life, and less frustration that they will never have the things they want.

Damon Murchison, President and CEO of IG Wealth Management says that, while the 2020 results seem counter-intuitive with everything that’s happened this year, they could be attributable to the fact that Canadians have sharpened their focus on their personal finances to help ensure they’re in a better positioned to navigate a challenging environment

Ipsos attributes the impressive seniors’ score to the fact that they report being less financially impacted by COVID than the general population, are more likely to make use of a financial professional, and to regularly review their financial situation.

Young Canadians, people in the 18 to 34 age bracket, do not feel quite as confident. Since mid-year, Millennials are more likely to have lost their job, less likely to feel that they have made good financial decisions, and are not as confident about being prepared and on track to meet their financial goals.

Last month, FP Canada released results of a survey that indicated a third of Canadians feel they will never financially recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. 42 per cent of Canadians surveyed felt that they are not in a strong enough financial position to handle the challenges of the second wave of COVID. 41 per cent said they were in a worse financial position today than they were before the pandemic. More than a third said they have already had to draw from personal savings or take on new debt to make up for money shortfalls and cover expenses. The survey found that Canadians aged 45 to 54 are struggling the most.