Investors Group Inc. and Harris/Decima’s overall index of consumer confidence in the economy rose to 67.0, the highest the index has been since August 2008, in the period from December to February. In the U.S., the index did not see the same bounce as in Canada, inching only slightly upward to 61.2.

The most significant jump in optimism was on the question of how Canadians felt they’d be doing financially a year from now. Twice as many people feel they’ll be better off than worse off (27% to 13%). This is an improvement from December results when 20% felt they’d be better off, while 18% felt they’d be worse off.

Canadians are also more amenable to making a major purchase. In December, 35% thought it was a good time to make a major purchase, while 50% thought it was a bad time. Today, opinion is virtually even, with 41% feeling now is a good time to make a major purchase and 43% feeling it is a bad time to do so.

Pessimism about the economic outlook for the coming year decreased slightly. While a majority, 59%, still foresee bad times for the economy in the coming year, this was down from the 64% who answered in-kind in the December survey. Ten per cent see good times ahead for the economy in the next 12 months.

The number of Canadians who say they are worse off today than they were last year remained relatively steady at 27%, down a point from the December survey. Once again, most people, 57%, are far more likely to say they are doing about the same financially as they were last year. Thirteen per cent feel they are better off financially compared with a year ago, which is relatively unchanged since December.

“Some Canadians appear to be seeing light at the end of the economic tunnel, as both the one-year and five-year outlook results have improved this quarter,” says Harris/Decima senior vice president Jeff Walker. “The roller-coaster ride may not be over yet, but the data suggests many feel that we have hit bottom, and will gradually move upward from here”.

“Restored consumer confidence is an important factor in any potential economic recovery,” adds Debbie Ammeter, vice president of advanced financial planning at Investors Group. “It is interesting to note that Canadians seem to recognize that things could be difficult for most of this year, but yet, there appears to be more who believe that they will be better off a year from now.”

Each week, Harris/Decima interviews just more than 1,000 Canadians. These results were gathered from Feb. 5 through Feb. 15 for a sample of just more than 2,000 respondents. The poll’s margin of error is 2.2%, 19 times out of 20.