86% of Albertans are worried about their standard of living declining because of inflation and rising costs.
May 24, 2023 – Counsel Public Affairs’ latest public polling release demonstrates the opinions and attitudes of Albertans regarding key issues, such as: standing of living, wages, and inflation.
In the lead-up to the May 29 Alberta election, Counsel Public Affairs has been actively measuring the opinions, attitudes, and voting intentions of Alberta residents since March of this year.
Counsel’s most recent survey was conducted from Friday, May 12 through Sunday, May 14, and had a sample size of 1,219 respondents.
Key Findings:
- More than 8 in 10 Albertans are worried that their standard of living may decline because of inflation.
- A large majority of Albertans express concern over being able to afford their household expenses – most notably groceries (82%) and utilities (78%).
- 6 in 10 Albertans support raising the minimum wage, while one in three believe the minimum wage of $15/hour should be kept status quo.
- 7 in 10 believe the minimum wage should be kept current with the rate of inflation.
- More than 6 in 10 who are working full- or part-time believe their salaries or wages have not kept up with inflation.
Demographics:
- Decided UCP voters (87%) and decided NDP voters (86%) are equally likely to be concerned with their standard of living declining because of inflation and the rising cost of living.
- Among younger and older generations, there are significant differences concerning the ability to be able to afford rent or a mortgage payment.
- Younger age cohorts (women 18-34) are more likely than older cohorts (men 55+) to express concern over being able to afford housing.
- 70% of women 18-34 believe that Alberta should have a higher minimum wage.
- Women 18-34 and Men 55+ are equally likely (73%) to believe that the minimum wage should be kept current with the rate of inflation.
- 89% of Women 55+ do not believe that their salary or wages have kept current with the rate of inflation.
Methodology for May 12 – 14, 2023 Survey
1,219 Alberta residents were surveyed between May 12 – May 14, 2023. Counsel Public Affairs uses the Lucid Exchange Platform as the sample provider, which blends a variety of partner panels. If the survey was a probability-based random sample of the same size, it would be considered accurate +/- 3% nineteen times out of twenty. Results are weighted for age, gender, and region according to the most recent census.