Nearly half of Canadians (46 per cent) dealt with a major unexpected event or emergency during the past year that required most of them either to borrow money or dip into their savings to cover the unplanned costs, finds a new CIBC poll.

A worrisome finding of the survey: 41 per cent of all Canadians have no emergency savings/rainy day funds.

Almost three-quarters (74 per cent) of those surveyed who experienced the unexpected did not have enough dedicated emergency savings and were forced to find other sources of money to cover the expense.

Almost one-third (29 per cent) borrowed money from family, friends or a financial institution, or tapped their line of credit or credit cards.

If they couldn’t access new funds, they either adjusted their household budget (18 per cent), or used savings earmarked for other purposes (14 per cent).

Among the most common emergencies reported were:

  • major household repairs or purchases (27 per cent);
  • major auto repairs or purchases (23 per cent); and
  • illnesses or medical bills (16 per cent).

“This is the time of year when we prepare for winter, and it’s also the perfect time to take stock of just how well we can weather a financial emergency,” says Veni Iozzo, senior vice president, deposits & client solutions at CIBC.

“The reality is, with winter coming, Canadians can’t put off fixing a hole in the roof, replacing a broken down furnace or repairing a car that just won’t start. Many of us are likely to be hit with an emergency in the coming year and not having the money readily available to handle the unexpected makes it all the worse.”

The poll found that those aged 35-54 were more likely than the average Canadian not to have a rainy day fund (46 vs 41 per cent), yet they were also more likely to have experienced an emergency in the past year (51 vs 46 per cent).

The online survey was conducted among 1,500 randomly selected Canadian adults who are Angus Reid Forum panelists, from October 9 to 10. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.53%, 19 times out of 20.