Onward Mobility: the 2027 Canada Outlook
It can feel a little counterintuitive to say, but the defining consumer dynamic of the 2020s has been stagnation.
There’s no shortage of headlines: the COVID-19 pandemic, mass protests, the inflation crisis, sweeping technological change, the Elbows Up movement, and now the prospect of a full-blown trade war have offered more than a decade’s share of disruption.But where the decade has been full of events, it’s been short on outcomes: personal finances that feel consistently stuck, life aspirations that feel perpetually on hold. A momentous time without any sense of momentum.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. Canadians are charting their own courses, finding their own paths to momentum and progress. As we look to 2027 and beyond, we see Canadians focusing on three key areas of life that offer the potential to reignite the optimism that’s been largely missing from the consumer marketplace and restore a sense of “onward mobility.” Our 2027 Canada Outlook dives into those three areas: Canadians’ pursuit of affordability, the care they put into their wellbeing, and their exploration of the possibilities of AI.
We see that need for onward mobility first in the discussions of affordability that permeate Canadian news and culture—discussions that can look very different depending on which swath of Canadians we’re talking about.
Roughly equal shares of the population feel that the lifestyle they want is fully affordable and fully unaffordable, with precious few in between, indicating the K-shaped economy we’ve highlighted for years. Within that divergent view of the Canadian population, the less-well-off majority is hedging against risk and prioritizing Protection at all costs, while the more affluent minority is a little more open to that risk in their pursuit of Progress. Brands increasingly need to recognize that split, avoiding the mushy middle in favor of value propositions that address the pointed needs of one end of the K or the other.
A different kind of bifurcation is coming to define the Canadian view of health & wellbeing, one between a desire to take one’s health into their own hands and a recognition of the limits of consumer empowerment.
As the struggles of provincial health care systems to meet Canadians’ needs become more pronounced, consumers are recognizing the power of their individual wellbeing choices and asserting Agency across product categories. But at the same time, they’re trusting in the wisdom of experts and rejecting the renegade mindset that informs much of consumer health behavior south of the border, coming to a sense of Acceptance that not every alarming health headline needs an immediate reaction. Brands that can help Canadians separate one from the other, offering empowerment while avoiding the hype cycle, will build credibility and loyalty with consumers.
And finally, no slice of Canadian life feels more simultaneously rife with excitement and worry than AI technology.
Even the often tech-skeptical Canadian population is gradually embracing the use of AI, and as they go from casual to frequent users over time, the tech becomes a Catalyst for possibilities they could’ve never before realized: their creative pursuits, their routines and habits, their knowledge as consumers, and more. But Canadians still want to retain Control over the more sensitive parts of their lives, with even avid users remaining wary of frontier use cases like agentic shopping. Brands that understand that distinction and help consumers feel like they’re mastering AI—and not that AI is becoming their master—will help lead a tech-forward evolution of the Canadian marketplace in years to come.
In each of these domains, Canadians yearn not just to move forward, but to do it right. The standards for brand partnership in these deeply held personal aspirations are higher than ever, and they’re only continuing to evolve. Stay tuned in the coming months as Canada MONITOR dives further into the nuances of each of these topics to provide tangible, in-depth strategic guidance for brands looking to support the Canadian consumer and win in the Canadian marketplace.