Financial Vulnerability in Canada

This book examines financial vulnerability: a state in which a person or household cannot absorb any substantial spending or negative income shock without substantial financial and ultimately broader harm such as job loss, emotional harm, or mental illness. The focus of the book is on the experiences of lowincome and modest income Canadian families – families which, by virtue of being in the lower income brackets, are particularly at risk of experiencing financial hardship. Looking at vulnerability from a conceptual and empirical lens, this book offers a framework to better understand the complex and interdependent ways in which financial vulnerability emerge and can be addressed. By locating its analysis of individual and household financial management in wider community, cultural, and economic contexts, this book seeks to offer holistic policy recommendations to reduce financial vulnerability, with implications that go beyond Canada and to other developed countries.



Jerry Buckland is an Economist and Professor of International Development, Menno Simons College (based at the University of Winnipeg) and Faculty Affiliate with the Redekop School of Business at Canadian Mennonite University, Canada. His specializations include financial livelihoods and regional/community development. He has authored articles and books in these fields including a recent book, Building Financial Resilience, and with a transdisciplinary team, currently working on the Canadian Financial Diaries research project.



Brenda Spotton Visano is a distinguished University Professor in Economics and Public Policy at York University in Canada. Her community-engaged, policyoriented research focuses on advancing access to financial services, enabling access to higher education for non-traditional students, and analysing funding frameworks for community organizations. She is the author/co-author of many scholarly articles and community-focused reports for First Nations organizations, UNESCO and NGOs. Together with Chris Robinson and Jerry Buckland, she coedited the 2018 book Payday Lending in Canada, published by Palgrave Macmillan.