Eight in 10 Canadians would choose human financial advice over AI or finfluencers when making financial decisions - yet nearly half say professional advice is too expensive, and six in 10 say too much complexity and red tape surrounds financial transactions. That paradox, sitting at the heart of Primerica Canada's 2026 Financial Security Monitor survey, defines the challenge facing advisors in the current market: trusted in principle, but not always accessible in practice.
The survey found that 85% of Canadians do not trust financial advice from finfluencers, and 71% would not consider turning to them for guidance. Professional financial advisors ranked highest for trust at 60%, ahead of family members at 49%, bank staff at 37%, and friends at 32%. A further 76% said they have no interest in using platforms such as ChatGPT to assist with budgeting, saving, investing, or retirement planning. Eighty-one percent said everyone should have access to a professional financial advisor.
The survey sits against a backdrop of sustained financial strain. Six in ten Canadians said their personal financial situation has worsened over the past 12 months, and more than three-quarters expect their situation to either stay the same or deteriorate over the next year. Negative views of the national economy stand at 76%, and within provinces or territories at 78%.
The findings align with broader trend data. FP Canada's 2026 Financial Stress Index found that money remains the top source of stress for Canadians, cited by 43% as their biggest concern, with grocery prices ranking as the leading external financial stressor at 64%, and concern about rising housing prices growing from 20% in 2023 to 25% in 2026. The Bank of Canada's fourth-quarter 2025 Consumer Expectations Survey found that concerns over high prices and trade-related economic uncertainty continued to weigh on consumers, with respondents reporting a higher likelihood of missing a debt payment and weaker spending plans.
The Primerica findings point to a significant and largely unmet appetite for trusted human advice - one that the protection gap data makes concrete. According to PolicyMe's 2025 Life Insurance Gap Report, 42% of Canadians do not have life insurance or are unsure whether they do, with 34% of those without coverage citing cost as the barrier, rising to 42% among parents with children at home.
Research from Toronto-based MyChoice found that Canadian households carry an average of $509,000 in life insurance coverage against an estimated need of $595,000, with Ontario showing the largest shortfall at more than 30%, followed by Quebec at 25% and Alberta at 21%. Underinsured rates are especially pronounced among younger Canadians, with Gen Z showing a 44% need gap - more than double that of Baby Boomers - while women face a 32% insurance need gap compared to 28% for men.
Term policy sales in Canada fell from 397,000 in 2019 to 340,000 in 2024, even as premium revenue held up, suggesting the market is concentrating toward higher-value products while breadth of coverage continues to shrink. Only 32% of Canadians trust their insurer, and advisors who lead with education, simplicity, and genuine needs analysis are best positioned to differentiate in a low-trust environment.
The survey's findings on finfluencer distrust come as Canadian regulators have moved to formalise oversight of the sector - giving institutional weight to what the public data already suggests. In December 2025, the Canadian Securities Administrators and the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization published joint guidance on the application of securities legislation to finfluencer activity, targeting creators who discuss financial topics and the companies that pay them. In September 2025, the Alberta Securities Commission banned a finfluencer and his company from Alberta capital markets for two years and imposed a $30,000 administrative penalty.
According to a 2024 Canadian Financial Capability Survey, nearly one in ten Canadians said they got financial advice from social media, a figure that rises sharply among Canadians aged 18 to 34. The Primerica data suggests that while social media has a foothold among younger Canadians, it has not translated into widespread trust - leaving significant ground for advisors who can demonstrate credibility and accessibility.
"When it comes to protecting their financial future, Canadians are making it clear that they still value trusted, professional guidance over advice on social media," said John Adams, CEO of Primerica. "At a time when many families are feeling pressure from rising costs and economic uncertainty, people want credible information and real conversations they can trust."
