Credit cards - The Canadian Press

By The Canadian Press

Fears of bankruptcy, debt ease after COVID-19 shock

Jul 20, 2020 | 4:32 PM

CALGARY, AB. — Canadian consumers are more upbeat about their personal debt than they have been for three years, despite the recession brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, a poll has found.

An online survey of more than 2,000 people for bankruptcy firm MNP Ltd. found that 61 per cent of respondents said they expect to be able to afford their living expenses for a year without adding to their debt.

The poll also found that on average, respondents had $148 more left over at the end of the month after paying bills, compared to early March.

MNP says it saw 51 per cent fewer consumers file for insolvency in May, compared to a year ago.

The poll indicated that while attitudes toward personal debt are at a three year high, 44 per cent of respondents still regret the amount of debt they have, and just 33 per cent expect their debt situation will improve over the next year.

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According to the polling industry’s generally accepted standards, online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population.