B.C. optimism helps Canada consumer confidence rebound

Canadian consumer optimism is rising across the board, reaching record levels in British Columbia, telephone polling shows.

The national Bloomberg Nanos Canadian Confidence Index advanced last week to 56.9, the highest since November, as expectations improved for the economy, housing, personal finances and job security.

“All indicators showed a positive direction and this was especially the case for perceptions on job security,” Nanos Research Group Chairman Nik Nanos said.

Confidence in British Columbia, the country’s third-most populous province, rose to 65.1 from 60.8 a week earlier. It’s the most-optimistic reading since polling began in 2008. Sentiment in Ontario, the country’s most populous province, rose to 62.1 from 61.1, the highest since 2014.

The percentage of respondents who say their job is secure rose to 53.7 from 51.2 a week earlier, outpacing the 12-month average of 50. Statistics Canada will report April labor data on Friday, and economists predict a 2,000 net increase in jobs, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg survey, after a gain of 40,600 in March.

The share of those saying their personal finances are better off than a year ago also rose to 14.5 from 13.4 a week earlier, while 29.3 percent say their finances have worsened, down from 29.5 percent a week earlier.

The proportion of respondents expecting home prices in their neighborhood to increase over the next six months rose to 40.8 percent, the highest since October of 2014. Those expecting the Canadian economy to strengthen over six months rose to 26.2 percent of respondents, from 25.7 percent a week earlier, while the share expecting it to weaken fell to 29.7 percent from 32.2 percent.

The Bloomberg Nanos Consumer Confidence Index is based on a rolling four-week average of 1,000 telephone polling respondents. It’s considered accurate within 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. The last round of polling ended April 29.