Financial Resilience Institute
April 14, 2025 · 5 mins
Canadian Household Financial Vulnerability a Mainstream Problem based on February 2025 Index Release data: with many concerned about the Impacts of US Tariffs
The February 2025 Canada Mean Financial Resilience Score is 52.87, up 2.15 Index Points from last year but down 2.8 Index points compared to June 2021. Of concern, 65% of Canadian households completely agree they are worried that US tariffs will affect their household personally and 78% completely agree they’re worried they will negatively impact the economy.
VANCOUVER, B.C. April 14, 2025/ CNW – Financial Resilience Institute, a leading authority on financial resilience and well-being in Canada and globally, announces data from its thirteenth February 2025 Financial Resilience Index Model Release report. This is based on independent data from the Institute’s peer-reviewed Financial Resilience Index Model, which measures and tracks household financial resilience three times a year nationally for Policymakers, Financial Institutions and the ecosystem. Data is based on a robust sample size of 6179 adult Canadians from the Institute’s Financial Well-Being Studies.
The February 2025 Financial Resilience Index Model data reveals a Mean Canada Financial Resilience Score of 52.87, with Canadians at the national level ‘Approaching Resilience’. 72% are experiencing financial vulnerability on some level with household financial vulnerability spanning all household income demographics. Data is based on a robust sample size of 6179 adult Canadians from a representative sample of the population by age, province and gender. The Index measures household financial resilience at the national, provincial, segment and individual household level across nine behavioural, sentiment and resilience indicators, with a pre-pandemic baseline of February 2020. It also tracks the extent to which primary bank customers rate their Financial Institution highly for supporting their financial wellness over the past 12 months, and more.
The new Canada Mean Financial Resilience Score as of February 2025 is 2.15 Index points higher than a year ago in February 2024, with this a statistically significant increase from a year ago. Key index indicators that have improved in the past year relate to confidence in peoples’ ability to meet their short-term savings goals, their liquid savings buffers and planning ahead financially for upcoming and unexpected expenses or to save for long-term goals.
That said, the Canada Mean Financial Resilience Score as of February 2025 is 2.8 Index points lower than June 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many households were buffered by swift and significant Federal Government financial relief and had significantly adjusted their consumer and financial behaviours amid lockdowns. While COVID-19 was the first significant global ‘financial stressor and shock’ hitting households the second big global shock that is happening now relates to the impact of US tariffs. While it is highly uncertain what the US tariffs impacts will be, as of February 2025, 65% of Canadians completely agreed they are worried that tariffs will affect their household personally, with numbers much higher for younger Canadians and those who were more financially vulnerable based on their financial resilience score.
As of February 2025, 23% of households have a liquid savings buffer of less than 3 weeks. 22% are unable to meet their essential expenses and 79% report that the cost of living has outpaced any income growth they’ve seen in in their household in the past 12 months, with this much more of an issue for more financially vulnerable households. Yet 72% of Canadians want to better understand their financial resilience and how they can improve it, with Financial Institutions, Policymakers, Employers, non-profit organizations and others having a role to play in helping individuals, families, small businesses and communities from a financial and overall resilience standpoint.
One quarter of households also do not know how they will fund their retirement, with this data similar to in previous years.
Financial Resilience Institute also released its latest data on the financial well-being and overall well-being of Canadian households, based on the non-profit’s recently released free, publicly available Financial Well-Being Index Model and Toolkit, released as a free instrument for usage globally in October 2024. This new Index builds on over 10 years of data analytics and enables financial well-being and overall well-being measurement at multiple levels across the world, as a timely instrument following the G20 Policy Note on Financial Well-Being published in November 2024. The Canada Mean Financial Well-Being Score is 6.11 as of February 2025. The Canada Overall Well-Being Score is 6.01 as of February 2025, with Canadians at the national level ‘Coping’ for Financial and Overall Personal Well-Being. More financially vulnerable households experience lower levels of financial well-being and well-being across every dimension (including mental and physical health) as proven by the Institute leveraging its Financial Resilience Index model and highlighted in the Institute’s joint report with Statistics Canada published in September 2021.
Financial stress continues to negatively impact the productivity and engagement at work of 42% of Canadian employees, and Employers have a role to play in helping their employees to improve their financial wellness. 37% of Canadian employees rate their Employer highly for helping to improve their financial wellness over the past 12 months based on the Institute’s independent tracking.
The Institute’s CEO and Founder Eloise Duncan stated, ‘”Our latest Household Financial Resilience Index data signals how critical it is for Policymakers, Financial Institutions, Employers, Non-Profits and others to focus on fostering the financial and overall resilience of Canadians and our economy: with a sharp focus on populations that need help most. The global macro-economic environment is clearly uncertain and challenging. We anticipate increased household financial vulnerability may be on the cards in the upcoming June or October 2025 Index releases. Canadians are working very hard to maintain or improve their financial resilience despite the already-high cost of living and other challenges, but many indicators signal challenges. Timely, data-driven decision-making and targeted support will be crucial to help improve the lives Canadians and foster economic resilience.”
About Financial Resilience Institute
Extensive deep-dive data and analytics are available through the Institute’s Subscriber Report and customized analytics for Policymakers, Financial Institutions and purpose-driven organizations. Proceeds are re-invested back into the impact work of the Financial Resilience Institute, enabling important independent Index analytics and reporting the non-profit’s work to help improve financial resilience, health and well-being for all.
For further information or to request an interview regarding the Financial Resilience Institute’s latest findings, please contact:
Eloise Duncan, CEO and Founder: eloise@finresilienceinstitute.org
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