British Columbians hardest hit by inflation among Canadians saving for a home
Canada’s inflation rate recently hit an over two-year high, and the struggle to pay for everyday essentials has impacted how British Columbians are preparing for home ownership.
A new poll by RBC reveals that many B.C. residents are having difficulties saving for a home due to a rise in their expenses.
According to the Toronto-based bank, 2026 has become a “year of trade-offs” for Canadians, with a rise in uncertainty.
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“Rising costs and shifting economic conditions have made every step of the homebuying journey feel higher-stakes, and the pressure of whether to act is weighing on Canadians,” said Janet Boyle, senior vice president of Home Equity Finance for RBC, in the report.
“While the barriers to home ownership have always existed, how they look has shifted.”
According to the RBC Homeownership Poll, 64 per cent of British Columbians say that inflation is causing them to save less for a home.
This is nearly 10 per cent higher than the national average of only 56 per cent of Canadians having inflation worries on their mind when saving for a home, and also the highest percentage in Canada.
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Seventy-six per cent of British Columbians report that rising costs have made it harder to save money, and nearly eight in 10 people in the province say that home ownership today requires more sacrifices than for previous generations.
“Many of my clients want to buy a home, but economic uncertainty is making it harder to feel confident about timing,” added Brad Evjen, senior mortgage specialist for RBC, in a statement.
Canada’s national statistics agency released the latest Consumer Price Index on Monday. It found that the country’s inflation rate surged to 3.2 per cent in May, up from a 2.8 per cent gain in April.
The inflation rate has been fluctuating between 1.9 and 2.5 per cent in the past year. The last time Canada reached this high was January 2024.
According to StatCan, higher gas prices continued to drive the increase in inflation in May. It found that on a year-over-year basis, gas prices rose at a faster pace in May by 33.2 per cent compared to April (+28.6 per cent).
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A new government multibillion-dollar plan to tackle the rising cost of food in Canada also cannot come soon enough for B.C. couples facing relationship strains in the grocery aisles.
Interac and Burson teamed up to survey 1,500 adult residents across the country about how increasing grocery costs impact them.
While single respondents reported “disproportionately higher per-person costs than Canadians who split these expenses,” it’s not all roses in the floral section for couples, especially those in British Columbia.
In B.C., just 58 per cent of people in a shared household report managing a grocery budget well together, the lowest total in the country.