A significant majority of Canadians say the rising gas and oil prices are hitting their personal or household finances, according to a new poll.
The survey conducted by Canada Pulse Insights for CityNews found that of the 91 per cent who said gas prices were hurting their pocketbook, 69 per cent reported it was affecting them a great or moderate deal.
Thirty per cent of those surveyed described a major impact on their finances, with 11 per cent said they are struggling to make ends meet, and 19 per cent said the price shock is forcing changes in their work or lifestyle decisions.
Another 60 per cent said that while the impact was noticeable, it was manageable within their current budgets or by adjusting their spending and habits.
Younger Canadians surveyed were feeling the most pressure, with 77 per cent of those 18 to 34 years old saying they’ve been affected, along with those earning between $50,000 to $99,000 at 72 per cent of those polled.
The higher costs were most noticeable when it came to their cost of fuel for their personal vehicles at 74 per cent following by travel, home heating, commuting and business- or work-related costs.
Ontarians said they felt the most affected at 77 per cent, followed closely by Alberta at 76 per cent, Saskatchewan/Manitoba at 75 per cent, Quebec at 74 per cent and Atlantic Canada at 65 per cent. Although the highest percentage of those who were being affected a great deal was in Atlantic Canada at 38 per cent.
Only 49 per cent of those surveyed in British Columbia said they were affected by rising gas and oil costs.
Gas prices have risen significantly in Canada since the war in Iran began and Iran started restricting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s stranglehold on the strait, the waterway leading out of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of the world’s oil is transported during peacetime, has driven up global oil prices, as have Tehran’s attacks on regional energy infrastructure.
“Every demographic is going to be affected, but at the moment, it’s the lower demographics, and it’s people who, in fact, are sensitive to price changes right at street level. It’s going to come to everybody else in different stages, but right now, it’s hitting us right at ground zero, where we see it at the gas pumps, but it’s going to start to ripple through everything else pretty much sooner than later,” explained pollster John Wright.
Canada Pulse Insights surveyed 1,511 Canadian adults powered by the SAGO online panel platform, March 21 – 25, 2026. The results have a comparable margin of error of ± 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
