Survey: Majority of Middle-Income Canadians Not Interested in Using AI for Financial Advice

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 8, 2025--

Middle-income Canadians are signaling a strong preference for human financial guidance over artificial intelligence, according to the latest data from Primerica Canada’s Financial Security Monitor™ (FSM™) survey.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250908973118/en/

Primerica Canada Financial Security Monitor™ (2025)  - Middle-income Canadians who worked with a financial professional demonstrated more skill and confidence across five basic financial tasks.

Despite the rapid growth of digital tools, the survey found 68% are not interested in using AI tools for personal financial tasks such as budgeting, saving, investing or retirement planning. This reluctance runs deeper than mere preference — it reflects broader trust concerns and apprehension that AI adoption aimed at providing financial guidance could have a negative impact on them.

“Middle-income Canadians are facing increasing financial pressure, and many are saving less as a result,” said John A. Adams, CEO of Primerica Canada. “The fact that most of these households prefer human advice over AI shows just how much they value trusted, personal guidance in challenging times.”

The survey also highlights broader anxiety around the economy, with inflation remaining the top financial concern for Canadians at all income levels. The majority (87%) of middle-income households worry about paying more for everyday essentials, and nearly three-quarters (71%) fear they won’t have enough money to retire when they want to.

At the same time, only 16% of middle-income Canadians are actively engaged in all five core financial preparedness behaviors, which include saving for the future and safeguarding their families through life insurance.

“The results demonstrate that access to trusted financial advice is more important than ever and securing it should be within reach of everyone,” Adams said. “No matter their income level, families can benefit from working with a licensed financial professional. Personalized guidance can help them build long-term financial habits, improve confidence and stay on track toward their goals.”

Key Findings from Primerica Canada’s Financial Security Monitor™ Survey

About Primerica Canada’s Financial Security Monitor™ (FSM™) Survey

Since 2020, the Canadian Financial Security Monitor™ survey has polled middle-income households across Canada to gain a clear picture of their financial situation. Using Dynamic Online Sampling, Change Research polled 909 adults nationwide in Canada, from July 10-15, 2025. Post-stratification weights were made on gender, age and province/territory region to reflect the population of these adults based on the 2016 Canadian Census. Polling was done in both English and French. The margin of error is +/-3.4 percentage points.

About Primerica Canada

Primerica Canada, headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario and a business unit of Primerica, Inc., is a leading provider of financial products and services to middle-income households in Canada. Independent licensed representatives, located in every province, provide financial education and products such as term life insurance, mutual funds and annuities to Primerica clients to better prepare them for a more secure financial future. We conduct our core business activities in Canada through two principal entities: Primerica Life Insurance Company of Canada and PFSL Investments Canada Ltd. From coast to coast, Canadian families have more than $151 billion of life insurance coverage through Primerica Canada, and we administered more than $23 billion in Canadian assets as of December 31, 2024.

About Primerica, Inc.

Primerica, Inc., headquartered in Duluth, GA, is a leading provider of financial products and services to middle-income households in North America. Independent licensed representatives educate Primerica clients about how to better prepare for a more secure financial future by assessing their needs and providing appropriate solutions through term life insurance, which we underwrite, and mutual funds, annuities and other financial products, which we distribute primarily on behalf of third parties. We insured over 5.5 million lives and had approximately 3.0 million client investment accounts on December 31, 2024. Primerica, through its insurance company subsidiaries, was the #3 issuer of Term Life insurance coverage in the United States and Canada in 2024. Primerica stock is included in the S&P MidCap 400 and the Russell 1000 stock indices and is traded on The New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “PRI”. For more information, visit www.primerica.com.

Primerica Canada Financial Security Monitor™ (2025) - Middle-income Canadians who worked with a financial professional demonstrated more skill and confidence across five basic financial tasks.

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City Council employee was arrested in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, enraging city officials and drawing protesters Tuesday to the Manhattan detention center where he was being held.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Rafael Andres Rubio Bohorquez had long overstayed a tourist visa, had once been arrested for assault, and “had no legal right to be in the United States.”

City Council Speaker Julie Menin disputed that, telling reporters that Rubio Bohorquez, a data analyst for the city legislative body, was legally authorized to work in the U.S. until October.

Menin, a Democrat, said the council employee signed a document as part of his employment confirming that he had never been arrested and cleared the standard background check conducted for all applicants.

The New York Immigration Coalition and New York Legal Assistance Group filed a petition after Rubio Bohorquez's arrest Monday asking a court to order his release, Menin and Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., said in a statement.

ICE confirmed Rubio Bohorquez’s name. Menin and Goldman referred to him only as a council employee. She said she was doing so to protect his identity.

“We are doing everything we can to secure his immediate release,” Menin said at a Monday evening news conference. She decried the arrest as “egregious government overreach.”

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a Democrat, said he was “outraged” by what he called “an assault on our democracy, on our city, and our values.”

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, also a Democrat, said: “This is exactly what happens when immigration enforcement is weaponized.” Detaining people during routine appearances “doesn’t make us safer. It erodes trust, spreads fear, and violates basic principles of fairness,” she said.

Menin said officials were attempting to reach Rubio Bohorquez’s family and obtain contact information for his immigration lawyer.

Rubio Bohorquez, originally from Venezuela, was detained at an immigration appointment in Bethpage, on Long Island, authorities said. Menin called it a regular check-in that “quickly went awry.”

“This staffer, who chose to work for the city and contribute his expertise to the community, did everything right by appearing at a scheduled interview, and yet ICE unlawfully detained him,” Lisa Rivera, the president and CEO of New York Legal Assistance Group, said in a statement.

Rivera said the organization represents dozens of people who have been wrongfully detained by ICE and hundreds who are following immigration procedures in hopes of staying in the U.S.

According to ICE, Rubio Bohorquez entered the U.S. in 2017 on a B2 tourist visa and was required to leave the country by Oct. 22, 2017. He has been employed by the City Council for about a year, Menin said. His position pays about $129,315 per year, according to city payroll data.

“He had no work authorization,” ICE said in a statement confirming Rubio Bohorquez’s arrest. The agency, part of the Department of Homeland Security, said that under Secretary Kristi Noem “criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the United States. If you come to our country illegally and break our law, we will find you and we will arrest you.”

Several dozen people protested Tuesday outside the Greater New York Federal Building, where Rubio Bohorquez was being held. Some carried signs that said “Abolish ICE” and “No Human Is Illegal.”

Disputes over an immigrant’s work authorization have arisen before, in part because many employers rely on a robust but flawed government system called E-Verify. The tool compares information entered by an employer from an employee’s documents with records available to Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration.

Experts say the system is generally accurate in terms of matching documents, but it doesn’t automatically notify an employer if an employee’s right to work is revoked after it has already been verified.

A 2021 Inspector General review concluded that until the government addresses E-Verify’s shortcomings, “it cannot ensure the system provides accurate employment eligibility results.”

Matthew Malloy, Executive Board Member with the Association of Legislative Employees, speaks during a news conference outside Greater New York Federal Building, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Alexa Avilés, New York City Council member, speaks during a news conference outside Greater New York Federal Building, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Chi Ossé, New York City Council member, speaks during a news conference outside Greater New York Federal Building, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Carlos Calzadilla, President of Brooklyn Young Democrats, speaks during a news conference outside Greater New York Federal Building, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

People raise signs during a news conference outside Greater New York Federal Building, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)