Household debt hits $1.80 per dollar of income
Canadian households owe more than ever relative to their income, Statistics Canada reports, marking the sixth straight quarter of rising debt.
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Canadian household debt has outpaced income for the sixth straight quarter, according to Statistics Canada.
The ratio of household credit market debt to disposable income rose to 179.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2026 — meaning there's roughly $1.80 in debt for every dollar of household income. That ratio climbed 0.9 percentage points from the previous quarter.
The household debt service ratio, which measures obligated payments of principal and interest as a share of disposable income, reached 14.75 per cent in Q1, up from 14.68 per cent in Q4 2025.
Total household credit market borrowing — including consumer credit, mortgages, and non-mortgage loans — totalled $35.5 billion in the quarter, up from $34.5 billion in Q4 2025. Mortgage originations fell $22.6 billion, but increases in consumer credit and non-mortgage debt offset that decline.
The figures offer a snapshot of how Ottawa-area households are managing money amid ongoing economic pressures.