Most Albertans now say it's difficult to meet monthly expenses, for first time in years of polling

In a recent poll commissioned by CBC News, 54 per cent of Albertans said it's been difficult to meet their monthly household expenses — marking the first time that a majority of people have felt that way over six years of similar polling.

Pollster Janet Brown has been asking Albertans a variety of questions about their personal experiences and political preferences, as part of regular polling commissioned by CBC News since 2018.

"What really struck me about this poll were the economic numbers," she said.

"I know everybody likes to look at the political stuff, but this is a huge change. I don't usually see data change this dramatically year over year. This is not a flash in the pan. There has been a shift — an important shift — in the way people are feeling about the economy."

Albertans' political perspectives, by contrast, have not changed much over that same time.

Brown said the question about monthly expenses stands out against the rest of the poll results and represents a significant change over a relatively short period of time.

In this year's poll, which was conducted over the first two weeks of May, 37 per cent of respondents described it as "somewhat difficult" to pay their bills, and 17 per cent said it's "very difficult."

Previously, the largest rate of "very difficult" responses came in March 2020, when 12 per cent of Albertans felt that way. 

"The other thing we do in the polls is we also look at the demographic information quite closely," Brown said.

"So it's not surprising that unemployed people, people with low incomes, are finding it difficult to meet their monthly expenses. But we saw some other interesting differences as well."

Some of the sub-groups of respondents who were most likely to be finding it difficult to meet their monthly expenses included:

The differences by age are particularly stark, with a majority of those under 45 saying it's difficult to pay their monthly bills and a majority of those aged 45 and over saying it's easy.

Brown believes that's related to the cost of housing, which has been rising rapidly in Alberta amid the recent population boom.

"The older you are, the more likely you are to have your house paid off or just about paid off," she said.