Fears of poverty, insolvency, unemployment top of mind for stressed out Canadians

“Fear and ambiguity, especially around uncertain health and economic prospects is a major cause of stress and anxiety,” Shawn Stack, a vice-president at Bromwich+Smith, said in a statement. “We are living in unprecedented times. The trepidation people are feeling is real. It keeps them up at night and it’s hard to find a solution to ease the thoughts.”

The poll showed 70 per cent of respondents fear “the notion that things have changed forever,” the company said.

The Conference Board of Canada, an Ottawa-based research organization, said Wednesday the economic recovery would proceed, but at a slow pace because of the pandemic. Employment might take five years to fully rebound and some sectors such as restaurants will be transformed.

Last week the Canadian Federation of independent Businesses said the pandemic may squeeze revenues of small businesses to pre-COVID-19 levels for years in a so-called L-shaped recovery unless Ottawa clears federal aid logjams and boosts consumer confidence.

It forecast restaurants and hotels could take more than eight years to resume pre-pandemic income while building management companies are on pace for a five-year recovery and lawyers and accountants may need two and a half years.

Meantime, Canada’s robust housing market continues largely unfettered except for some urban condo prices and the oil price-impacted Prairies. Perhaps that’s why older people, who often own homes, are less fearful than youth in the Bromwich+Smith survey.