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Do you talk to your spouse about money? 42% of Canadians don’t, poll suggests

Politics, sex, religion top list of taboo subjects for Canadians
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(Black Press Media files)

What topics do you find taboo? If you’re like most Canadians, it’s politics, sex, money and religion.

That’s according to the Discomfort Index, a poll from FP Canada released Tuesday. In it, polling company Leger asked 1,526 Canadians how they felt about a range of stereotypically taboo subjects.

The poll suggests 26 per cent of Canadians are either very or somewhat uncomfortable talking about politics, with older Canadians the most reticent. Religion, sex and relationships were tied for the second most taboo subject with 24 per cent of Canadians not wanting to talk about any of those issues.

Money was next of the list of taboo topics with 23 per cent feeling uncomfortable about it and money rounded out the top five with just 12 per cent of Canadians not liking to talk about it.

The poll broke down the results by gender and found that women are more likely than men to find politics and religion awkward to talk about, while both were equally matched in disliking discussing sex, relationships and health issues.

The poll found that better-off Canadians were more likely to talk money than poorer ones. Pollsters found that 16 per cent of those making $40,000 or less a year didn’t talk about money at all, compared to just nine per cent of the general population.

Income even affected how much people spoke to their spouses about money, with 39 per cent of those who earned $40,000 or less discussing the topic with their partners, compared to 72 per cent of Canadians making $80,000 or more. In total, 58 per cent of Canadians said they would talk to their spouse about money matters.

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@katslepian

katya.slepian@bpdigital.ca

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