[Survey] 67.8% of British Columbians worried about the impact of inflation on their energy bills this winter

British Columbians fear to see their energy bills go up and massively call for the government to help them. That's what shows a survey conducted by HelloSafe during the month of October in Canada, and to which 1068 people answered. Here are the main findings or this survey:

British Columbians' fear to see their energy bills going up this winter spread all across Canada

Compared to the Western European countries, Canada is much more autonomous concerning energy supplies. However, when asked "Are you worried about the effects of inflation on your energy bills this coming winter?", 67.8% of British Columbians that participated in our survey answered "yes" - nearly the same proportion observed on a national scale (67.7%), as illustrates the graph below:

50.9% of BC respondents say they could decrease their energy consumption this winter

Within the survey, we asked people in BC what they would do to face increasing energy bills. The answers show that :

• 50.9% of people in BC say they are willing to reduce their energy consumption to save money
• 30.5% answered that they could install more energy-efficient appliances
• 13.6% of BC respondents consider turning to greener energies, and the same proportion say they could change their energy provider.

Only 58.3% of British Columbians in favor of a freeze on energy prices by the government

With inflation striking hard all across Canada, we tried to evaluate on which extent Canadians expect help from the government to face their energy bills increase this winter. The answers we collected through our survey show that a short majority of British Columbians hope for such support from public authorities:

• 58.3% of Ontarian respondents say they would support a freeze on energy prices by the government - which is much lower than the national average (78.6%, e.g. 20 points down)
• On the 3 other big provinces (Ontario, Quebec and Alberta), more than 80% of the people support such governmental measures.

50.8% of British Columbians think the government should not give people more money to help them pay their energy bills

Rather than freezing the energy prices, another possible measure for the government consists of giving money to the people to help them pay their energy bills. But do Canadians support such measures? The answers we collected give interesting insight:

• On a national scale, Canadians seem to be divided on that question: "only" 56.8% of them think that the government should give more money to help people pay their energy bills
• In BC, more than 50% of the people think this is not a good idea (60.5% of Quebecers think the same)
• On the other side, in Alberta and Ontario, more than 70% of respondents say they are in favour of such a measure - e.g. 13 more points than the national average.

Our methodology

This study is based upon the results of a survey conducted on the hellosafe.ca platform during the month of October 2022, to which 1068 people from all across Canada responded.

In addition to its expert editorial line around insurance and financial products, HelloSafe explores broader topics relating to global consumption in Canada and around the world. The aim is to decipher certain complex subjects for consumers and to provide everyone with the latest information. It is within this framework that HelloSafe regularly carries out studies on trends relating to current personal finance in Canada.

About HelloSafe Canada

HelloSafe is Canada's leading platform for comparing insurance and personal financial products. HelloSafe provides Canadians with hundreds of free, anonymous and quick comparison tools and calculators built on powerful proprietary technology. Up-to-date content from experts accompanies all our comparison tools. Our platform empowers you to make the best decisions with your money and find the right products at the right price.

For all press enquiries, please contact :

Nolwenn Abolivier
Press relations officer for HelloSafe in Canada