There’s a deepening divide among consumers, even as the rate of missed credit payments dipped, a new Equifax Canada report shows.
It shows 1.4 million Canadians missed a credit payment in the second quarter. While that’s up by 118,000 compared with the same time last year, it’s down slightly from the first quarter.
Rebecca Oakes, vice-president of advanced analytics at Equifax Canada, said it’s “a bit of good news” to see the delinquency rate levelling off. “We’re starting to finally see that stabilize a little bit,” she said in an interview.
“The less good news, though, is that below that high level number, we’re still seeing this financial gap widening for some groups of consumers,” she added, particularly between home owners and non-home-owners.
Widening gap between home owners and non-home-owners
About one in 19 Canadians without a mortgage missed at least one credit payment, compared with one in 37 home owners, the report said.
Total consumer debt rose 3.1% year-over-year to $2.58 trillion, Equifax said, while average non-mortgage debt per consumer increased to $22,147.
Oakes said various factors, including high unemployment and economic uncertainty—amplified by trade disruptions—have made it harder for many Canadians to keep up with day-to-day expenses.
Consumers under the age of 36 are being hit the hardest, the report suggests.
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Affordability crisis is affecting younger Canadians most
Millennials and Gen Z saw their average non-mortgage debt rise 2% to $14,304 from a year ago. The group’s 90-plus days non-mortgage balance delinquency rate also rose to 2.35%—a 19.7% jump year-over-year.
“The affordability crisis seems to be hitting younger consumers the hardest,” Oakes said. “Between rising costs, employment uncertainty, and limited access to affordable credit, many are struggling just to stay afloat.”
Also, many home owners who locked in lower mortgage rates during the height of the pandemic could see their payments rise upon renewal.
“Payment levels are going up for many consumers when they’re renewing their mortgage and when that is a little bit too much, the first place you tend to see that is (missed payments) on things like credit cards,” she said.
Ontario remained the hot spot for financial distress in the second quarter. The 90-plus day delinquency rate was 1.75%, which is 15.2 basis points higher than the national average, the report said.
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Rates of missed payments are higher in Toronto and surrounding areas
The rates of missed payments were even higher in the city of Toronto and the surrounding area, which are exposed to the tariff-hit auto and steel sectors.
However, Oakes said the financial gap between home owners versus non-home-owners in Ontario peaked last year and has started to come down.
Another credit-tracking agency, TransUnion, released its second-quarter consumer credit report last week. It said consumer debt reached $2.52 trillion in the second quarter, up 4.4% year-over-year.
“Subprime consumers are more likely to feel the impact of higher costs of living and may choose to take on additional debt, such as credit card balances, to help cover the costs of goods and services,” Matthew Fabian, director of financial services research and consulting at TransUnion Canada, said in a statement.
“For other risk tiers of borrowers, their card balance growth has been less than the rate of inflation, indicating that these consumers are less reliant on credit cards to maintain purchasing power,” he said.
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