Canada: Spending resilience with energy pressures – RBC
Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) analysts Rachel Battaglia and Abbey Xu note Canadian consumers kept spending in Q2 despite weak real wage gains and higher energy costs.
Canadian consumers maintained spending habits in the second quarter despite weak real wage growth and rising energy costs, according to Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) analysts Rachel Battaglia and Abbey Xu. Fuel expenses are consuming a larger portion of household budgets, prompting some Canadians to use savings or take on additional debt to sustain their spending patterns.
Despite these pressures, per capita insolvencies remain below pre-pandemic levels, suggesting consumers possess the ability to manage current challenges. While fuel prices surged in early March, driving up overall costs, discretionary goods and services spending, including sports-related activities, rebounded. The broader economy is improving, which supports the cautious optimism that Canadian consumers will continue to spend throughout 2026.
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