More Canadians only making minimum payment on credit cards: TransUnion
Some Canadians are seeing their credit card balances grow as the cost-of-living crisis and higher interest rates eat into household budgets, a new report shows.
Grocery affordability has become a national crisis, pushing some to rely on food that has passed its best-before date, according to a new study surveying Canadian eating habits.
"It is really happening across the country," said Dalhousie University Agri-Food Analytics Lab Professor Sylvain Charlebois, who published the food safety study that surveyed 9,109 Canadians.
"The findings reveal 58 per cent are more enticed to eat food that would have the best before date either on that day or after," he said, adding that eating potentially spoiled food to save money is dangerous.
"Take, for example, animal proteins. I would be very careful," Charlebois warned.
Souls Harbour Rescue Mission, a Halifax community centre, feeds more than 600 people each day at several locations throughout Nova Scotia.
According to Cherry Claxton,the facility’s Chief Operating Officer, many of the people who eat at Souls Harbour often make desperate decisions when it comes to the food they eat.
"If their option is to eat a can of beans that expired four years ago, or to have two dollars to go buy a new one, it’s not an option for them," said Claxton.
Halifax resident Albert Kinslow regularly consumes food he knows could be unsafe because he has no other choice.
"It is because of my meagre finances and my inability to find affordable food," said Kinslow.
The study, broken down by age group, asked Canadians if they believed they ate food in the past year – that was on or past its best-before date – that possibly made them sick.
The results for those who said "yes" are as follows:
Charlebois added when it comes to best before dates and expired food, many Canadians push the boundaries of safety and engage in risky eating habits that could lead to costly medicals bills.
"If you get sick it is going to cost you way more than that cabbage you didn't throw out," said Charlebois.
Methodology provided by Dalhousie University:
The survey conducted in April 2024 and a total of 9,109 respondents. This number is both the weighted and unweighted total, indicating that each respondent was counted once in the analysis, and any adjustments made to ensure representativeness did not change the total count of respondents. The margin of error for the survey, assuming a 95 per cent confidence level, is approximately 1.92 per cent. This means that the results of the survey are expected to be within ±0.63 percentage points of what would have been obtained if the entire population had been surveyed, 95 times out of 100.
Some Canadians are seeing their credit card balances grow as the cost-of-living crisis and higher interest rates eat into household budgets, a new report shows.
Emergency services in the town of Rigaud, Que. are investigating after a tornado touched down shortly after 5:30 p.m. on Friday.
The 13-year-old sister of a young man killed in the attack on her family’s Mississauga restaurant in 2021 took the stand in a Brampton courthouse on Monday to describe the terrifying moments of coming under fire.
Israeli tanks reached the centre of Rafah for the first time on Tuesday, witnesses said, three weeks into a ground operation in the southern Gaza city that has sparked global condemnation.
Slowed or interrupted travel, the passing of goods and significantly restricted borders should be expected if Canadian border workers take upcoming strike action.
Mexico's federal archaeology agency on Monday accused the conservative-governed city of Guanajuato of mistreating one of the country’s famous mummified 19th century bodies.
A new pothole-riddled street in Hamilton has taken the top spot for the worst road in Ontario, according to a new list released by the Canadian Automotive Association (CAA) on Tuesday.
Prosecutors and defence lawyers in Donald Trump's hush money trial are set to deliver closing arguments to the jury Tuesday, each side looking to score final points with the panel before it starts deliberating the fate of the first former American president to be charged with felony crimes.
A Courtenay, B.C., senior is downsizing and packing to move as she comes to accept she can no longer afford to stay in her home, after falling victim to a scam that robbed her of her life savings worth more than $100,000.
A Winnipeg pinball wizard is heading to the granddaddy of them all – the IFPA World Pinball Championship.
It’s the chance of a lifetime for a group of Ottawa athletes who are getting ready to represent Team Canada at the World Junior Ultimate championships in the United Kingdom.
Parishioners at Holy Trinity Anglican Church are praying for a monetary miracle, as their historic place of worship could collapse at any moment.
A Saskatchewan man made it to the summit of Mount Everest earlier this month.
IAMGOLD’s Cote Gold open pit mine, located off Highway 144 between Timmins and Sudbury, had its official ribbon-cutting ceremony this week as production ramps up.
When one is extended an invitation to the Royal Garden Party in London, England, there's undoubtedly no shortage of pomp and circumstance. Barrie, Ont. natives Megan Kirk Chang and her husband Brandon experienced just that as they entered the prestigious event hosted at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday.
An unlikely celebrity emerged from social media to cheer on the Edmonton Oilers as they face the Dallas Stars tonight in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
The proprietors of Regina's sole discount theatre are aware they're carrying on a significant legacy.
When Jujhar Mann said he wanted to be a pastry chef on a grade school career project, he didn't imagine that pursuing his dream would land him on a popular Netflix baking competition.