Despite the continuous growth of household debt in Canada, a new poll says Canadians want to make paying off their debt the #1 priority in 2015.
The poll, by Nielsen for CIBC, says paying down debt is the top financial priority for Canadians for the 5th year in a row. As part of the poll, Canadians identified their top five priorities for the year ahead – and Nielsen/CIBC has been charting these responses for the past five years:
| 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | |
| Paying Down Debt | 22% | 16% | 17% | 17% | 14% |
| Building Savings | 12% | 11% | 10% | 10% | 10% |
| Paying Bills / Getting By | 10% | 8% | 7% | 3% | — |
| Managing Day-to-Day Spending / Budgeting | 9% | 8% | 8% | 14% | 12% |
| Retirement Planning | 5% | 7% | 7% | 11% | 13% |
Christina Kramer, an EVP with CIBC says:
Not only have Canadians told us debt repayment is their number one financial priority for five years running, for 2015 we see an even greater number of Canadians focused on better managing debt in the year ahead. While it is encouraging that paying down debt is important to Canadians, it is also important not to lose sight of longer term goals like retirement planning.
You can read more about the poll here.