More than half of Atlantic Canadians say money is a major stressor in their lives: report

A new study suggests Atlantic Canadians are the least optimistic about their financial future.

A new survey has found people living on the East Coast have higher rates of stress about money than people elsewhere in the country.

According to FP Canada’s 2025 Financial Stress Index, 60 per cent of Atlantic Canadians say not having enough money left to save, invest or pay down debt is a major barrier to taking control of their finances. 

Among the survey’s other results, 51 per cent of Atlantic Canadians feel money continues to be the major stressor in their lives, while 40 per cent say debt causes them the most financial stress.

“I think we do struggle. We make ends meet, but I think we do struggle,” said Sarah Doue of Sydney.

Doue is a seasonal worker in Cape Breton’s tourism industry and, during the offseason, she works a second job as a substitute teacher in Potlotek First Nation - roughly an hour’s drive away.

Because of her own experience, Doue says it’s not hard to believe Maritimers are struggling to make ends meet.

“Everyone is just kind of working their tails off, for lack of a better phrase there, to just make sure we can pay what bills need to be paid, that we can afford groceries,” she said.

The survey results also found that 42 per cent of people reported money as their leading source of stress. While that number is down two per cent from a year ago, it is still considerably higher than the 33 per cent recorded in 2021.

“Debt really kind of skyrocketed as the primary financial concern,” said Laura Whiteland, a financial planner based in Truro, N.S.

Aside from cultural differences, Whiteland said she couldn’t put a finger on why East Coasters seem to be more stressed about their finances.

“I think I’ve had more conversations in the last few years about getting onto that stricter budgeting, paying attention to expenses, and really drilling down ‘What’s an essential?’” Whiteland said.

When asked what kinds of things people might do to keep from bottoming out financially, Whiteland warned short-term fixes can lead to long-term pain.

“If you’re putting things onto overdraft or your credit card, that gets really expensive really quickly and that’s just going to exacerbate any stress you’ve already got,” she said.

Although Nova Scotia plans to up its minimum wage to $15.70/hour on April 1, Doue said she feels it should be higher.

“I joke that I’ll never get to retire and I’ll just keep working until the day I die, because some days it really feels like that,” she said.