Polls show Canada consumer confidence up

OTTAWA, Feb. 24 (UPI) -- Polls released Tuesday indicated a little more optimism among Canadian consumers, although nowhere near the highs seen in recent years.

The Financial Post said the Harris/Decima poll pegged Canada's consumer confidence index at 67.0 for the period of December to February, the highest it has been since August.

A second poll from Sun Financial indicates Canadians are feeling better about their retirement prospects as well.

"The roller-coaster ride may not be over yet, but the data suggest many feel that we have hit bottom and will gradually move upward from here," Jeff Walker, senior vice president of Harris/Decima, told the Financial Post.

Harris/Decima, which surveyed 2,000 Canadians early this month, found 27 percent of respondents said they believed they would be better off financially in the future compared with 13 percent who said they felt they would be worse off. The previous poll showed 20 percent expecting their finances to improve and 18 percent predicting they would be worse off.

The Sun Financial poll surveyed 1,226 people in December.