Canadians continued to pile on debt last year.
Credit rating agency Equifax Canada says average consumer debt among Canadians rose 2.7% to $72,950 at the end of 2019.
Non-mortgage debt -- which includes credit cards, loans and lines of credit -- edged up 1% to $23,800, largely due to lower use of lines of credit. Non-mortgage debt increased most in Quebec, rising 2.03% to $19,833, followed by Ontario at 1.91% to $24,406. It decreased 1.46% to $29,076 in Alberta and fell 1.12% to $24,789 in Saskatchewan.
In the mortgage market, Equifax Canada said the average new loan reached $289,000 nationally in the fourth quarter of 2019, an increase of 7.2% from the prior year. The average new mortgage in Toronto rose by a record 8.5% to $448,000 while Vancouver mortgages rebounded from two years of decreases to gain 7.4% to $455,000.
The national delinquency rate (the percentage of credit users missing at least three consecutive payments) rose to 1.19% for non-mortgage debt, 11% higher than 2018. The delinquency rate increased 14.4% in British Columbia, 14% in Ontario and 13.3% in Alberta.
