Financial vulnerability is a mainstream issue

More Canadians are feeling the effects of housing affordability, the high cost of living, and extreme weather events.

Did you know that 74% of Canadians have some level of financial vulnerability?

According to our peer-reviewed Index model, that’s almost 19 million people that are vulnerable to financial stress and hardship. 18.6% of the population, representing 4.8 million Canadians, are ‘Extremely Vulnerable’. This data is from the Institute’s February 2025 Financial Resilience Index model, based on a sample size of 6179 Canadians.

Based on the Institute’s February 2025 Financial Resilience Index Model Seymour Financial Resilience Index®.

’Extremely Vulnerable’ households have a financial resilience score of 0 to 30; ‘Financially Vulnerable’ a score of 30.01 to 50; ‘Approaching Resilience’ a score of 50.01 to 70, and ‘Financially Resilient’ a score of 70.01 to 100.

Financial vulnerability spans all income levels, but who’s hit the hardest?

Canadians who are more financially vulnerable, underserved, or facing systemic barriers, including:

Clear links exist between financial well-being and overall health and well-being

Respondents who scored as ‘Extremely Vulnerable’ through the Index were much more likely to report lower levels of emotional well‐being, physical well‐being, satisfaction with work, and feelings of connectedness with others. ‘Extremely Vulnerable’ families reported lower levels of well-being across all dimensions.

Based on the February 2025 Index:

• 69% say money worries cause emotional stress
• 45% say money worries make them physically unwell
• 49% say money worries make them lose sleep at night

Additionally, as of February 2025:

• 66% of people say money worries impact their mental health
• 42% say money worries impact their productivity or performance at work 

When individuals thrive, so do families, small businesses and the economy

Financial resilience and well-being of individuals support family and community well-being across generations. The health and resilience of small businesses are also critical to a thriving Canadian economy.

Financial vulnerability has multiple knock-on impacts on the health, resilience, and well-being of Canadians—not to mention on the resilience of communities and the economy. So what can we do about it?

Building Financial Resilience, Financial Health and Well-Being Together

As a leading independent authority on financial well-being in Canada and globally, we empower purpose-driven organizations to profoundly understand, benchmark, and improve the financial health, financial resilience and financial well-being of their customers, employees and communities.

Contact us if you’re interested learning more about our services how we can help improve the financial resilience and financial well-being of those you serve, while measuring your impact.

Learn more about financial health, resilience, inclusion and well-being in Canada:

Financial Inclusion and Access to Financial Help Challenges for more Financially Vulnerable or Underserved Populations