A year-end survey conducted by Leger found that a quarter to a third of Canadians reported spending less on holidays this year compared to 2021, with high inflation and a potential recession topping the list of Canadians' biggest worries for 2023.

The December Leger survey, conducted on behalf of 1526 BNN Bloomberg Canadians about their holiday expenses this year, as well as their impressions of 2022 as a whole and their expectations for 2023, found that a third of Canadians said they are spending less on travel this year compared to 2021, 26 percent said they are spending about the same amount, and 11 percent said they are spending more.

Also, 19 percent reported that they were spending more on food than in 2021, while still much fewer than the 49 percent who said they are spending about the same amount, and nearly 26 percent said they are spending less.

On the other hand, only seven percent of Canadians surveyed said they are spending more this year on entertainment, compared to 40 percent who said they are spending about the same and 35 percent who said they are spending less on entertainment compared to 2021.

Also, about 45 percent of Alberta residents said they are spending less on gifts and travel this year, compared to the national average of 33 percent.

2022 / 2023, Future Concerns:

Just under a third of Canadians surveyed reported that they found 2022 worse than 2021, with 21 percent saying it was better, and 46 percent saying it was about the same.

However, Canadians were more optimistic than pessimistic about the future overall, with about 34 percent saying they think 2023 will be better than 2022, 40 percent saying they think it will be about the same, and 22 percent thinking it will be worse.

When respondents were asked to choose one of their biggest worries, 44 percent chose higher inflation, while 31 percent chose recession, and 15 percent chose climate-related weather events.