Economic optimism rises since pipeline approvals: poll

Consumer confidence has increased in Canada since a pair of major pipeline approvals, with hopes for the country's overall economic performance rising, telephone polling shows.

The Bloomberg Nanos Canada Confidence Index climbed to 56.6 from 56.2 a week earlier, the second straight increase. The index reached its highest level since October and is poised to finish the year above its 2016 average of 56.1.

The polling results have changed in the two full weeks since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the approval of the Kinder Morgan Inc. Trans Mountain and Enbridge Inc. Line 3 pipelines. The move may eventually ease bottlenecks that now see landlocked Alberta energy producers receive a steep discount for their crude.

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The share of those expecting Canada's economy to strengthen in the coming months rose to 24.1, up from 19.9 in the week of the Nov. 29 pipeline announcement and the highest level since September. Meanwhile, the pocketbook subindex – measuring job security and personal finances – has jumped in the energy-rich Prairie region to 56.1 from 52.5 two weeks earlier. Sentiment is also up in British Columbia, where the Kinder Morgan project reaches the Pacific Coast.

Every week, Nanos Research asks Canadians for their views on personal finances, job security, the outlook for the economy and where real estate prices are headed.

This is what the survey data, which are compiled for Bloomberg News, captured last week:

Nationally, the share of those saying their job is at least somewhat secure rose to 66.5 from 64.3 a week earlier, the highest level since October.
The share of those expecting real estate values to rise in their neighbourhood fell to 36.7 from 37.4 a week earlier.
The proportion of respondents who say their personal finances have improved over the past year fell to 15.6 per cent from 17.2 per cent a week earlier, while the share of those saying their finances have worsened rose to 24.7 per cent from 23.7 per cent. A majority of 58.6 per cent report their finances haven’t changed.
British Columbia leads all regions in its consumer confidence score of 59.7, followed by Quebec at 59.5, Ontario at 57.6, Atlantic Canada at 53.9 and the Prairies at 50.4.

The Bloomberg Nanos Canada Confidence Index is based on a four-week rolling average of 1,000 respondents, and is considered accurate within 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. The latest round of polling concluded Dec. 16.