Over half of Canadians say they will be spending less on their Christmas plans this year, according to a survey by Angus Reid Institute.

In a report released Monday, it found 56 per cent of respondents will be cutting back on Christmas spending, in areas like presents, decorations and entertaining.

“Half say they are financially worse off now than they were at this time last year, the highest level seen in ARI’s [Angus Reid Institute] tracking dating back to 2010,” the report said.

“Few (13 per cent) have seen their financial picture brighten in the last 12 months.”

Canadians’ financial optimism has dropped over the past two years.

About three-in-10 (31 per cent) individuals are pessimistic about their financial situation heading into 2023, which is a two per cent increase from a year ago.

Canadians living in Nova Scotia are the most unsure about their finances (43 per cent), followed by Saskatchewan (42 per cent) and New Brunswick (41 per cent).

On the other hand, 20 per cent of Canadians think they’ll be better off financially a year from now and 41 per cent think they’ll be in the exact same situation.

CUTTING BACK SPENDING

Many Canadians have also cut back on spending, compared to just a few months ago.

The report found 64 per cent of respondents have slashed their discretionary spending, which is a seven per cent increase since August (57 per cent).

More Canadians are also scaling back their travel plans, with 37 per cent saying they’ve cancelled or reduced their vacation plans, up five per cent from August (32 per cent).