TORONTO - The latest results from TNS Canadian Facts' Consumer Confidence Index point to a growing optimism in Canadians' perceptions of the state of the economy. The overall Consumer Confidence Index is rising steadily - it stood at 83.7 in March, vaulted to 90.5 in April and climbed to 94.1 this month.

"The picture developing in the minds of Canadian consumers is one of steadying confidence. Much like the stock markets, consumers have discounted the negative economic news in their future assessments - and those assessments are getting brighter," said Dr. Michael Antecol, vice-president of TNS Canadian Facts and director of the marketing research firm's monthly tracking study.

All other indices are up too. The Present Situation Index, which captures evaluations of the overall state of the current economic and employment situations, posted a solid gain - rising nearly five per cent from 75.3 last month to 78.9 in May.

The Expectations Index, which measures consumers' estimation of the economy, household income and employment in the next six months, rose for the fifth straight month and currently stands at 101.4. The index score today is four per cent higher than last month's 97.4 reading and is up 16 per cent since March.

Likewise, the Buy Index, which gauges the degree to which people think the current period is a good time to make major purchases, is now at its highest point since July 2005. It continued its upward lift - to 107.0 from 103.9 last month and 95.3 in March. Overall, the index is up 12 per cent in that span.

"Canadians think the economy is getting better. They have really positive expectations for the future. And - maybe most importantly - they see the current environment as a pretty darn good time to make substantial purchases, perhaps reflecting the fact that the Bank of Canada key lending rate is at a historic low. All in all, we have a nice recipe for recovery, but the question is 'when will Canadians pull the trigger on their purchases?' I think they will soon," added Dr. Antecol.

Consumer Confidence Index tracks Canadians' attitudes about the economy each month and is part of a global study conducted by TNS in 18 countries. Three indices are produced each month to show how confidence in the economy is changing: Present Situation Index; an Expectations Index; and a Buy Index. The Canadian fieldwork is conducted using the firm's national bi-weekly telephone omnibus service, TNS Express Telephone. A total of 1,015 nationally representative Canadian adults were interviewed between May 11 and May 14, 2009. For a survey sample this size, the margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

TNS Canadian Facts (www.tns-cf.com) is one of Canada's most prestigious full-service marketing, opinion and social research organizations.