{"id":2471,"date":"2025-11-28T20:10:41","date_gmt":"2025-11-28T20:10:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/?p=2471"},"modified":"2025-11-28T20:10:41","modified_gmt":"2025-11-28T20:10:41","slug":"almost-four-in-10-canadians-took-on-more-debt-last-year-survey-shows-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/?p=2471","title":{"rendered":"Almost four in 10 Canadians took on more debt last year, survey shows &#8211; National"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p>The cost of living is catching up to a large chunk of Canadians, with almost one in four taking on new debt in the last year, a new report has found.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/d21y75miwcfqoq.cloudfront.net\/70c8fc80\" alt=\"\" style=\"position:absolute;width:1px;height:1px\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\"\/><\/p>\n<p>The survey by the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy (OSB) and the Canadian Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Professionals (CAIRP) also found more than half of Canadians (54 per cent) are struggling to pay bills, and 4.2 out of every 1,000 adult Canadians filed for insolvency in 2024, the highest rate since 2019.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy are we seeing debt accumulate to a point that insolvencies are rising? It\u2019s because spending has consistently been outstripping income for some time now,\u201d said Moshe Lander, an economist at Concordia University.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s maybe the more worrying sign. It\u2019s not the credit itself, it\u2019s that a lot of people don\u2019t find a path to be on the other side of the ledger, even when they get into the working years of their life.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-ad c-ad--bigbox l-article__ad\">\n<p>Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>This comes as credit agency TransUnion said Tuesday that total consumer debt in Canada rose to $673 billion in the third quarter of 2025, up 18 per cent compared to the same period last year.<\/p>\n<p>Car loans were the biggest driver of that rising debt. In the third quarter of last year, the average Canadian with a car loan owed $29,138. That number jumped 4.32 per cent to $30,396 in 2025, TransUnion said.<\/p>\n<p>And the average credit card balance across Canada rose 1.9 per cent to $4,652.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-tabs\">\n<p>\n\t\t\t<button role=\"tab\" class=\"c-tabs__tab c-tabs__tab--active\" type=\"button\">More on Money<\/button><br \/>\n\t\t\t<button role=\"tab\" class=\"c-tabs__tab\" type=\"button\">More videos<\/button>\n\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>That number might increase further as Canadians head into the holiday season, when credit card debt typically peaks, a report by Equifax Canada said Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not just credit card debt, the Equifax report shows. More Canadians are now defaulting on all kinds of non-mortgage loans this year, it added. This is true \u201cespecially in younger households and homeowners in urban centres,\u201d said Equifax Canada vice-president Rebecca Oakes.<\/p>\n<p>So why is this happening now? Lander believes low interest rates masked \u201cthe true depths to which people were in trouble\u201d in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>In 2022, interest rates started rising again and the effects of Canada\u2019s debt troubles are becoming apparent now, he said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-inlineSignup\" data-newsletter-inline=\"\">\n<div class=\"c-inlineSignup__image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"170\" height=\"225\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/wp-content\/themes\/shaw-globalnews\/images\/skyline\/money123.jpg\" alt=\"Get expert insights, Q&amp;A on markets, housing, inflation, and personal finance information delivered to you every Saturday.\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"c-inlineSignup__content\">\n<h2 class=\"c-inlineSignup__title\">Get weekly money news<\/h2>\n<p>Get expert insights, Q&amp;A on markets, housing, inflation, and personal finance information delivered to you every Saturday.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not that they\u2019re (interest rates) at generationally high numbers by any means, but they\u2019re just high enough that people have now reached that point of no return,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-ad c-ad--bigbox l-article__ad\">\n<p>Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"l-article__part\" data-shortcode=\"tp_video\">\n<div class=\"c-video c-videoPlay \" data-iframe-receiver=\"\" data-autoplay=\"\" data-displayinline-featured=\"false\" data-displayinline-type=\"video\" data-displayinline-player-id=\"miniplayer_11544585_692a00cfd908e\" data-displayinline-video-id=\"11544585\" data-displayinline-ratio=\"16:9\" data-displayinline=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/video\/embed\/11544585\/#autoplay&amp;stickyiframe=miniplayer_11544585_692a00cfd908e\" data-displayinline-sticky=\"true\">\n<div class=\"c-video__inner \">\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-video__placeholder\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img class=\"c-video__image\" alt=\"Click to play video: 'Business Matters: More Canadians missing non-mortgage debt payments'\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" data-src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/media.globalnews.ca\/videostatic\/news\/t3x4j7c45d-5qavbhrm7r\/nov_26.jpg?w=1040&amp;quality=70&amp;strip=all\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"\" sizes=\"auto, \" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/media.globalnews.ca\/videostatic\/news\/t3x4j7c45d-5qavbhrm7r\/nov_26.jpg?w=450#038;quality=70&amp;strip=all 450w,https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/media.globalnews.ca\/videostatic\/news\/t3x4j7c45d-5qavbhrm7r\/nov_26.jpg?w=720#038;quality=70&amp;strip=all 720w,https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/media.globalnews.ca\/videostatic\/news\/t3x4j7c45d-5qavbhrm7r\/nov_26.jpg?w=1040#038;quality=70&amp;strip=all 1040w,\" data-sizes=\"(min-width: 1040px) 1040px,(min-width: 720px) 720px,450px\"\/><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-video__overlay\"><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<time class=\"c-video__duration\">2:15<\/time><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-video__title\">Business Matters: More Canadians missing non-mortgage debt payments<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The inability to get a handle on debt is preventing Canadians from saving enough for a rainy-day fund.<\/p>\n<p>Nearly half (48 per cent) of respondents to the OSB and CAIRP survey said they don\u2019t have enough in their emergency funds to last them three months.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cExperts say we want to have three to six months of living expenses saved up. That seems really overwhelming for most Canadians,\u201d said Stacy Yanchuk Oleksy, CEO of Alberta-based non-profit credit counselling agency Money Mentors.<\/p>\n<p>A method she recommends to clients struggling with saving for an emergency fund is a \u201c52-week challenge,\u201d named for the number of weeks in a year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor every week of the year you pick (an increasing amount of money) you\u2019ve got to deposit into your savings account. Week one, you do $1, week two, you go $2. Now you\u2019ve got $3 and you keep adding it up. You\u2019re going to have over a thousand dollars in a year,\u201d she said, as a means of starting a saving habit.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-ad c-ad--bigbox l-article__ad\">\n<p>Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"l-article__part\" data-shortcode=\"tp_video\">\n<div class=\"c-video c-videoPlay \" data-iframe-receiver=\"\" data-autoplay=\"\" data-displayinline-featured=\"false\" data-displayinline-type=\"video\" data-displayinline-player-id=\"miniplayer_11287730_692a00cfdaf09\" data-displayinline-video-id=\"11287730\" data-displayinline-ratio=\"16:9\" data-displayinline=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/video\/embed\/11287730\/#autoplay&amp;stickyiframe=miniplayer_11287730_692a00cfdaf09\" data-displayinline-sticky=\"true\">\n<div class=\"c-video__inner \">\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-video__placeholder\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img class=\"c-video__image\" alt=\"Click to play video: 'Business Matters: Young adults and low-income households more likely to report financial stress'\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" data-src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/media.globalnews.ca\/videostatic\/news\/qsmvqbqerd-ediqra50ul\/july_14.jpg?w=1040&amp;quality=70&amp;strip=all\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"\" sizes=\"auto, \" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/media.globalnews.ca\/videostatic\/news\/qsmvqbqerd-ediqra50ul\/july_14.jpg?w=450#038;quality=70&amp;strip=all 450w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/media.globalnews.ca\/videostatic\/news\/qsmvqbqerd-ediqra50ul\/july_14.jpg?w=720#038;quality=70&amp;strip=all 720w,https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/media.globalnews.ca\/videostatic\/news\/qsmvqbqerd-ediqra50ul\/july_14.jpg?w=1040#038;quality=70&amp;strip=all 1040w,\" data-sizes=\"(min-width: 1040px) 1040px,(min-width: 720px) 720px,450px\"\/><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-video__overlay\"><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<time class=\"c-video__duration\">2:00<\/time><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-video__title\">Business Matters: Young adults and low-income households more likely to report financial stress<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<section id=\"content-dynamic-trending-stories\" class=\"l-inlineStories l-inlineStories--tile u-hide-tablet-landscape\" aria-label=\"Dynamic trending stories section\">\n<p>\n\t\t<span class=\"l-inlineStories__title c-heading c-heading--strikethrough\">Trending Now<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<ul class=\"l-inlineStories__posts c-posts c-posts--inline \">\n<li class=\"c-posts__item\">\n<div class=\"c-posts__media \">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img class=\"c-posts__thumbnail\" data-src=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/b270d838baa1a4a16154d07d0e3c7c184b70781febfd4250bb7fd4ba9a650721.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=336&amp;h=224&amp;crop=1\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"336\" height=\"224\" alt=\"\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"c-posts__details\">\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-posts__headlineText\" title=\"Guilbeault resigns from cabinet after Carney signs Alberta pipeline deal\" data-title=\"\">Guilbeault resigns from cabinet after Carney signs Alberta pipeline deal<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"c-posts__item\">\n<div class=\"c-posts__media \">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img class=\"c-posts__thumbnail\" data-src=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/miss-universe.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=336&amp;h=224&amp;crop=1\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"336\" height=\"224\" alt=\"\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"c-posts__details\">\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-posts__headlineText\" title=\"Court issues arrest warrant for Thai co-owner of Miss Universe pageant\" data-title=\"\">Court issues arrest warrant for Thai co-owner of Miss Universe pageant<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<p>The first step is taking an honest look at the numbers, Oleksy said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe story in our heads is often way bigger than the reality is. The reality of it is the numbers. Who do you owe and how much do you owe? What are your interest rates? Just looking at the facts,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-ad c-ad--bigbox l-article__ad\">\n<p>Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>A budget will also show you how much you could potentially set aside to apply to your savings account or to pay down your debt.<\/p>\n<p>What happens when you have multiple debts, including credit cards, lines of credit and payday loans, all at the same time? Some experts suggest debt consolidation.<\/p>\n<p>Simply put, debt consolidation bundles\u00a0all your different loans into one so that you only have a single payment you need to make.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis option could reduce the amount you pay if the interest rates and terms of a consolidation loan from your bank are better than those of the individual creditors,\u201d CAIRP says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat you\u2019re going to want to do is consolidate all your unsecured debt, close out all those products, and then just pay this one loan off. The risk is that you get the consolidation loan, but you don\u2019t close all those products,\u201d Oleksy said.<\/p>\n<p>CAIRP says debtors can also enrol in a debt management plan (DMP), which is essentially an agreement between you and your creditors that could include interest rate relief and a new debt repayment timeline.<\/p>\n<p>If your total debts (not including your mortgage) do not exceed $250,000, you can also apply for something called a \u201cconsumer proposal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA consumer proposal is a proposal made between you and your creditors that usually has you repaying only a portion of the unsecured debt you owe, instead of the full amount, making it different from a DMP,\u201d CAIRP says.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-ad c-ad--bigbox l-article__ad\">\n<p>Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>If none of the conventional methods of paying your debt work, a professional may recommend declaring bankruptcy. This could release you from most, if not all, of your debt.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDespite the common belief that you \u2018lose everything\u2019 if you declare bankruptcy, for some people\u2019s situation it is actually the most efficient debt solution for regaining financial stability. Bankruptcy is only considered, however, after exploring all your other options first,\u201d the CAIRP website says.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script defer src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js#xfbml=1&#038;appId=318812448281278&#038;version=v3.3\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/>#Canadians #debt #year #survey #shows #National<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The cost of living is catching up to a large chunk of Canadians, with almost one in four taking on new debt in the last year, a new report has found. The survey by the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy (OSB) and the Canadian Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Professionals (CAIRP) also found more [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2472,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[60,78,1077,39,17,50,49,1213,773],"class_list":{"0":"post-2471","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politics","8":"tag-canada","9":"tag-canadians","10":"tag-debt","11":"tag-economy","12":"tag-money","13":"tag-national","14":"tag-shows","15":"tag-survey","16":"tag-year"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2471"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2471\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2472"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}