Canadian Consumer Confidence Plunges To Lowest Level In 26 Years

October 17, 2008 12:22 p.m. EST

Ottawa, Ontario (AHN) - Canadian consumer confidence dipped 11.9 points on Thursday to 73.9, its lowest level in 26 years.

The consumer confidence index was measured Oct. 2-8 by the Conference Board of Canada, a think tank.

Pedro Antunes, director of national and provincial forecasts of the Conference Board, attributed the declining consumer confidence levels to the global credit crunch and the crash of major stock markets. "Consumers felt that they would be worse off in six months, indicating concerns that the financial crisis would not be resolved quickly," Antunes said in a press release.

The index was set at 100 in 2002. Consumer confidence in Ontario suffered the worst decrease as it went down by 16.6 points in September to 67.9 in October from 84.5.

Elsewhere, British Columbia's consumer conference fell 12.5 points, while was a 10.2 points dip in Quebec, 6.1 points for the Prairies and 4.9 points for Atlantic Canada.