High interest rates, grocery price inflation and the shortage of affordable housing are all making headlines in 2024 as top concerns for Canadians, and for good reason: One-third of Canadians report they live in households that are experiencing financial difficulties, according to Statistics Canada.
While financial insecurity puts a strain on Canadians' bank accounts, it also amounts to a poorly understood public health challenge with both short- and long-term effects on individuals, says Candace Nykiforuk, professor and scientific director of the Centre for Healthy Communities in the University of Alberta's School of Public Health.
The COVID-19 pandemic prompted Nykiforuk to start a project examining the impact of financial strain on Canadians' physical and mental health, and now she has received a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair appointment to continue that work. The Canada Research Chair in Community Environments and Public Policy for Well-Being comes with $1.4 million over seven years in funding for her research program, with a possibility to renew for a further seven years.
