TORONTO — Nearly eight in 10 post-secondary students across the Prairies say financial stress is affecting their wellbeing and academic performance as they prepare to return to school.
A survey released Tuesday by TD found 79 per cent of students in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba reported a negative impact from financial stress, slightly above the national rate of 76 per cent.
Money is also competing with academics for students' attention. Twenty-nine per cent of Prairie respondents said they were more stressed about finances than school, compared with 20 per cent nationally.
Overall, 86 per cent of Prairie students reported experiencing financial stress during the previous three months. The cost of essentials such as groceries and housing was cited by 55 per cent, while 51 per cent pointed to budgeting challenges and concerns about social spending. Managing debt was a source of stress for 42 per cent.
The findings also suggest some students are struggling with basic financial skills. Seventeen per cent of Prairie respondents said they did not know how to build and maintain a budget.
Students are also increasingly looking online for help managing their money.
One-third of Prairie students surveyed said they had used artificial intelligence tools or social media for financial advice or information.
Nationally, the figure was higher at 45 per cent. Of those students, 90 per cent said they had acted on advice received through AI or social media, while only 32 per cent said they regularly verified the information before acting on it.
Despite the financial pressures, interest in investing remains high. More than half of Prairie students, 51 per cent, said they were not currently investing, while 85 per cent said they wanted to learn more about investing, including the basics, different strategies and options requiring smaller amounts of money.
Nationally, 53 per cent of students said they were not investing, while 89 per cent expressed an interest in learning more.
The survey was conducted using the Leger Opinion panel from July 29 to Aug. 17. It included a nationally representative sample of 1,750 Canadian adults, including 255 post-secondary students between 18 and 29 and 255 parents of post-secondary students.
The results were weighted by age, gender and region, and by language in Quebec, to match census data. A probability sample of 250 has an estimated margin of error of plus or minus 6.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
