Equifax Canada Survey: 40% Spend More, Just 18% Spend Less

The Equifax Canada survey released on August 6, 2026 contains a pair of numbers that describe the year better than any single statistic: 40 per cent of Canadians say they are spending more than they were a year ago, and 18 per cent say they are spending less. More than two to one, in a period when most of the same respondents report actively cutting back.

In this article: the spending split · why it isn't a spending boom · what fills the gap · the segments under most pressure · why this matters · key takeaways · sources

The Equifax Canada survey headline split

Equifax Canada surveyed 1,532 Canadians aged 18 to 65 between July 17 and 19, 2026, using Leger's online panel, with a reported margin of error of ±2.5 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

A two-to-one split in favour of "more" is unremarkable on its own — in an ordinary year it would simply track inflation and wage growth. What makes this Equifax Canada survey finding worth reporting is what sits alongside it.

The same households are cutting back

If spending were rising because people were buying more, the cutback figures would be low. They are not.

• 67 per cent have reduced entertainment and leisure spending
• 40 per cent have cut personal care spending
• 35 per cent have reduced contributions to savings, investments or education funds
• 32 per cent have reduced spending on essential living expenses, including groceries and utilities

That last line is the one that resists a benign reading. A third of respondents report cutting essentials — and total spending is still up for 40 per cent. Households are buying less and paying more.

Rebecca Oakes, Vice-President of Advanced Analytics at Equifax Canada, said in the release that "the results point to mounting financial pressure for many households."

What is filling the gap

Three mechanisms show up in the data, and they stack.

Credit. Twenty-nine per cent are using more credit than a year ago to pay for groceries, utilities and other essential living expenses. Twenty per cent are relying more on credit cards or lines of credit. Thirteen per cent are borrowing money outright to cover basic living costs.

Savings. Twenty-three per cent are drawing on savings to cover day-to-day costs — not for a purchase or an emergency, but for ordinary weekly expenses.

Future saving. Thirty-five per cent have reduced contributions to savings, investments or education funds, which shifts the cost forward rather than absorbing it now.

Oakes framed the compounding effect directly: "When these pressures begin to overlap, households can lose financial flexibility quickly."

That is the significant point in this Equifax Canada survey. Any one of those three is manageable. A household doing all three simultaneously has spent its buffer, its future buffer and its credit headroom at the same time.

Where the Equifax Canada survey shows pressure concentrating

The survey breaks out two groups that fare worse than the national averages.

Households with children are the standout: more than half are spending more and 42 per cent are putting essentials on credit. Among under-55s, 22 per cent additionally reported struggling because of housing costs.

The counterweight

Reported fairly, the survey is not a picture of households borrowing without restraint.

Fifty-six per cent still expect to pay their credit card balances in full each month — the majority. And 60 per cent said they are actively avoiding new debt, a deliberate protective behaviour rather than a distress signal.

Looking ahead, 44 per cent worry about retirement savings, 41 per cent are concerned about being able to meet an emergency expense, 35 per cent are concerned about affording a major purchase such as a down payment, and 29 per cent report feeling less confident managing their finances.

Why this matters

For borrowers, the practical significance of the Equifax Canada survey is what it implies about how applications will be read.

Essential spending on credit is visible. Lenders that assess on bank data review 60 to 90 days of transactions. Groceries and utilities appearing on a credit card, and a savings balance trending down, both show up in that window.

A thinning buffer changes the risk of borrowing. The 41 per cent concerned about emergency expenses are describing exactly the situation that turns a manageable loan into a missed payment — no reserve behind it.

The counterweight cuts both ways. Sixty per cent avoiding new debt is protective, but avoiding credit entirely also means no new reported payment history. For anyone rebuilding a file, that is a trade worth making consciously rather than by default.

Key takeaways

• 40 per cent spending more than a year ago against 18 per cent spending less.
• The same households are cutting: 67 per cent on entertainment, 40 per cent on personal care, 32 per cent on essentials.
• 29 per cent using more credit for essentials; 23 per cent drawing on savings for daily costs; 13 per cent borrowing for basic living expenses.
• Households with children worst affected: 51 per cent spending more, 42 per cent using credit for essentials.
• 56 per cent still expect to pay cards in full; 60 per cent are actively avoiding new debt.
• Method: 1,532 Canadians aged 18–65, July 17–19, 2026, Leger online panel, ±2.5 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

Conclusion

The most useful thing in this Equifax Canada survey is not the 40 per cent figure but its relationship to the cutback numbers. Spending up while volume is down is the signature of a price problem, not a discipline problem — and it explains why two-thirds of respondents have given up entertainment while a third have started trimming groceries.

Households have responded rationally: discretionary first, savings second, essentials last, credit for the remainder. The concern in the data is not the borrowing itself but how many buffers have been used to avoid more of it.

Sources

• Equifax Canada — Survey release, August 6, 2026
• Global News — Consumers using savings to pay for essentials and piling up debt
• Statistics Canada — The Daily

This article reports survey findings published by Equifax Canada and is general information, not financial advice.