Out of a score of one hundred, Canadians get a grade of 69.3 when it comes to their overall financial situations, finds BMO Wealth Management’s national wealth index.
The index provides a snapshot of people’s finances by looking at whether they have:
- financial plans that they review;
- household debts and assets;
- rainy day and retirement savings;
- insurance;
- estate plans that they review; and
- sustainable financial situations.
With a score of 72.9, residents of Saskatchewan came out on top. Next up were residents of Quebec (71.1), Alberta (70.6), and Newfoundland and Labrador (70.4).
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On a national scale, respondents scored highest when asked whether they have financial strategies (81%) and life insurance plans in place (66%). In contrast, they scored the lowest when asked about the following:
- The effectiveness of their financial plans. More than two-thirds (67%) haven’t used a professional to draft their plans.
- Whether they’ve prioritized retirement savings. More than half (65%) don’t consider this a top priority.
- Whether they’ve purchased critical illness and/or disability insurance. Only 35% and 39%, respectively, have adequate coverage.
Still, most respondents say they’re prepared to deal with life changes such as getting married and having children. More than half (62%) say they’d be financially prepared, while 31% say they’re ill prepared or not ready at all.
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Provincial Breakdown of results
| Province | Index Score |
| National | 69.3 |
| Saskatchewan | 72.9 |
| Quebec | 71.1 |
| Alberta | 70.6 |
| Newfoundland & Labrador | 70.4 |
| Nova Scotia | 70.0 |
| Ontario | 69.2 |
| Manitoba | 68.4 |
| PEI | 66.7 |
| B.C. | 66.3 |
| New Brunswick | 58.9 |
NOTE: Survey results cited in this report are from online interviews with a random sample of 1,403 Canadians, 18 years of age and over, conducted between April 10th and 13th, 2015. As a guideline, a probability sample of this size would yield results accurate to ± 2.6%, 19 times out of 20. Results have been weighted using the latest census data to be representative of Canadians as a whole.
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