Canadians under 55 are four times more likely to have skipped bills in order to afford groceries in the past year compared to those over 55 years of age. (CTV News/Nanos)

1 in 5 Canadians say they have skipped paying a bill to afford groceries in the past year. One in ten each rarely (nine percent) or sometimes (eight percent) skipped a bill to afford groceries while about five percent say they often skipped bills to afford groceries. Canadians aged 18 to 34 and 35 to 54 (18% each) are more likely have sometimes/often skipped a bill in the past year than Canadians aged over 55 (four per cent).

Nanos conducted an RDD dual frame (land- and cell-lines) hybrid telephone and online random survey of 1,045 Canadians, 18 years of age or older, between October 27th and 30th, 2025, as part of an omnibus survey. The margin of error for this survey is ±3.0 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

The statistical tabulations including the unweighted and weighted number of interviews can be accessed here.

The research was commissioned by CTV News and was conducted by Nanos Research.

To read the full report, click here.