Canadians are beginning to believe that the economic recovery has arrived, and would devote an extra chunk of cash to paying down debt, according to Angus Reid Strategies poll released Thursday.

The online survey of reveals that 43% of respondents describe economic conditions in Canada as “good” or “very good”, up five points from July 3.

Residents of the prairie provinces (54% in Alberta and 51% in Manitoba/Saskatchewan) are the most confident in the economic recovery, while Atlantic Canadians (34%) are the least confident.

Canadians are also worrying less about economic and financial matters. Fewer people are worrying “frequently” or “occasionally” about the safety of their savings (30%, down 11 points from June), the value of their investments (35%, down 11 points), their employer running into serious financial trouble (19%, down five points), or them or someone in their household becoming unemployed (35%, down four points).

Little change was observed on the proportion of Canadians who have worried about being able to pay their rent or mortgage (24%, down one point).

Despite this general increase in confidence in the economy and decrease in worry, Canadians are not any more confident about their personal financial situation. Nearly three-in-five (59%) rate their own personal finances as “good” or “very good” (essentially unchanged from June at 61%).

People are also still hesitant about making major purchases. Less than three-in-10 (28%) reported that it was a good time to make a major purchase like a car or a home renovation. More than half (51%) felt that it was a bad time to make a major purchase, especially those in Quebec (62%) and Atlantic Canada (61%). This contrasts greatly with the buoyant mood in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, where 60% of respondents feel it is a good time for such a purchase.

One quarter of respondents (24%) said the monthly credit card debt their household is carrying is more than $5,000. Atlantic Canadians (33%) and people aged 35 to 54 (32%) are most likely to have credit card debts over $5,000.

Debt weighs heavily on the minds of Canadians when it comes to their discretionary spending. When respondents were asked what they would do with an extra $1,000, paying down debt was by far the biggest category.

Investments are not a high priority for Canadians at this point, according to the survey. Only $25 would be invested in mutual funds and another $25 in individual stocks. Respondents living in households earning more than $100,000 a year ($65) and those with a university education ($46) are more likely to invest in individual stocks.

Angus Reid Strategies conducted an online survey among 1,003 randomly selected Canadian adults from July 21 to 22. The margin of error is +/- 3.1%, 19 times out of 20.

IE