by Jonathan Chevreau for MoneySense

The percentage of Canadians living paycheque to paycheque has declined but it’s a far cry from widespread financial independence.

The Canadian Payroll Association today released its annual national employee survey citing a five percentage point decline (47% to 42%) in the number of Canadians who would be in “financial difficulty” if their pay were delayed even a week. The stats are slightly worse in Ontario, although the trend is also in the right direction: instead of more than half of Ontarians (52%) living pay cheque to paycheque, the percentage has fallen to less than half, or 48%.

There is of course a huge gulf between barely being able to make the next month’s rent or mortgage payment, and the seemingly universal goal of early retirement. Clearly, half of Canadians haven’t even got out of the starting gate when it comes to establishing a modicum of financial independence. According to the CPA, 40% of employees in Canada are spending all of or more than their net pay, with Ontario mirroring that rate.

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