Albertans spending less this holiday season due to inflation, cost of living: report

Albertans feeling pinch more than most: TD report A TD report shows Albertans, pinched more than most amid a tough year, are cutting back on holiday spending in a big way.

Amidst a tough year for consumers, a new survey suggests Albertans are feeling the financial pressure more than those in other provinces.

TD Bank’s annual Holiday Spending Survey shows nearly half of those in the province are planning to spend less compared to last year.

The report states 47 per cent of Alberta shoppers are cutting back, which is the highest provincial rate in Canada.

Among those people, 68 per cent say it's because they need to put that money towards groceries instead. That’s up 19 percent from last year.

“I would say all these numbers combined are indicating to us that while we’re hearing our economy is improving and some people are saying it’s improving, Albertans aren’t planning to show that,” Meranda Hamilton with TD’s Every Day Banking said.

“Alberta was definitely an outlier for the highest impact of inflation and cost of living.”

Elsewhere in the survey, TD reports 80 per cent of Albertans who are cutting back blame the higher cost of living and 54 per cent say they don't have any disposable income.

“People were moving from more expensive cities like Vancouver or Toronto to Alberta to see a lower cost of living this year,” Hamilton said, “and that did put pressure on housing prices. That could really be contributing to affordability.”

Hamilton suggests Albertans set a hard budget for the holidays this year and stick to it. She says there’s no shame in spending less if it means an easier 2025.