Nearly two-thirds of Canadian workers cite cost of living as their top financial stressor, with mental health scores falling sharply as a result
Nearly two-thirds of employed Canadians name the cost of living as their single biggest source of financial stress, according to new research.
The TELUS Mental Health Index for the second quarter of 2026, surveyed 3,000 employed Canadian adults between June 5 and 18 and found that 63 per cent of workers cite cost-of-living pressures as their primary financial stressor, with one in five saying that financial anxiety directly impairs their productivity at work and five per cent reporting they have missed work entirely as a result.
Workers experiencing financial stress scored 47.3 on the TELUS Mental Health Index, compared with 71.7 for those who are not, a gap of 24.4 points. Canada's national index score sits at 63.9 overall, with a third of the workforce classified as high risk and nearly half in the moderate risk category. Anxiety and isolation remain the weakest sub-scores, at 56.1 and 59.2 respectively.
Retirement knowledge gap adds to the pressure
The report also identified a widespread gap in workers' understanding of their own retirement savings arrangements, one with direct consequences for financial wellbeing.
Sixty per cent of employees who contribute to a workplace retirement or savings plan say they do not fully understand how their plan works. Workers who lacked any understanding of their plan scored 19.3 points lower on the mental health index than those who did.
At the same time, 63 per cent said they want their employer to provide resources related to retirement, pensions, or savings planning, a finding that points to a growing appetite among workers for financial planning support within their benefits packages.
The data highlights that many workers are enrolled in plans they do not understand and are actively looking for guidance that, in many cases, is not coming from their employer.
Younger workers and parents bear the heaviest burden
The financial stress is not evenly distributed. Workers under 40 are 3.5 times more likely than those over 50 to report that financial strain has hurt their productivity.
Parents face an even sharper exposure and are 80 per cent more likely than non-parents to experience productivity losses linked to financial pressure.
The so-called sandwich generation is also represented in the data: 27 per cent of the workforce provides financial or caregiving support to either adult children (15 per cent) or aging parents (12 per cent), adding layers of financial obligation that compound individual stress.
This pattern is consistent with broader findings on how economic uncertainty has been weighing on Canadian workers' wellbeing throughout 2026.
Emergency savings remain out of reach for many
Twenty-eight per cent of Canadian workers report having no emergency savings and the consequences for mental health are severe.
Those without a financial cushion scored 20.6 points lower on the index (49.1 versus 69.7 for those with savings) and were nearly three times more likely to report productivity impairment.
The findings align with what advisors have been observing in client conversations for some time, that debt pressure and a lack of financial buffers are increasingly linked to mental health struggles across the income spectrum.
Stigma still a barrier
Mental health stigma in the workplace remains a persistent obstacle. Only 49 per cent of workers said they feel safe discussing mental health with their manager, while 27 per cent said they would not feel comfortable disclosing a mental health issue at work.
Workers in that uncomfortable cohort scored 14 points lower on the index (54.7 versus 68.7), suggesting the lack of psychological safety is itself compounding the problem.
