Standing Senate Committee on National Finance (NFFN) (May 28, 2024)
ISSUE: The National Financial Literacy Strategy

Key points

• The goal of the National Financial Literacy Strategy 2021-2026, is to create a more inclusive, accessible and effective financial system for Canadians.
• The National Strategy recognizes that helping Canadians achieve positive financial outcomes is a shared responsibility.
• It is centered on the role of the entire financial ecosystem – including governments, banks and the financial services industry, not-for-profits and community organizations, educators and researchers, and other key players – in helping Canadians strengthen their financial literacy and, ultimately, their financial resilience.
• The National Strategy aims to advance positive financial outcomes for Canadians through changes in the ecosystem—either by removing barriers or catalyzing action – and provides a roadmap to guide stakeholders and help focus our collective efforts.
• To reduce barriers and catalyze action, the National Financial Literacy Strategy identifies six priority areas that will improve the financial ecosystem for consumers:
  • Reduce barriers by:
    1. Communicating in ways people understand
    2. Building and providing for diverse needs
    3. Supporting increased digital access and digital literacy
  • Catalyze action by:
    4. Enhancing access to trustworthy and affordable financial help
    5. Using behavioural design to simply financial decisions
    6. Strenghthening consumer protection measures
• The National Strategy also encourages financial literacy stakeholders and consumers to focus on key consumer building blocks, including managing expenses, debt and savings.

Qs & As

1. What results has the National Strategy achieved since 2021?

• In 2023 FCAC launched a Measurement Plan for the National Financial Literacy Strategy.
• The Measurement Plan helps measure progress by using the same metrics to measure the success of initiatives across the financial literacy ecosystem.
• This allows all parties in the financial ecosystem who are supporting Canadians’ financial resilience to compare and combine our results.
• This data then helps FCAC and our partners in the financial ecosystem to figure out what works and what doesn’t, and to adjust our approaches accordingly.
• In February 2024 we launched an early-release version of the National Financial Literacy Strategy Dashboard, which contains 60 findings from 38 initiatives, as submitted by 29 adopters of the Measurement Plan
• In addition, on an ongoing basis FCAC conducts research into a variety of issues related to financial consumer protection, financial literacy and financial resilience.