Toronto –
Canada’s credit card debt soared in the last three months of 2022 amid rising interest rates and stubbornly high inflation, especially as young Canadians rely on credit for a living .
According to credit bureau Equifax, Canadian credit card debt rose more than 15% year-on-year to total over $100 billion for the first time.
Total consumer debt in the fourth quarter of 2022 reached $2.37 trillion, up more than 6% from the same period in 2021, according to the latest Quarterly Credit Trends report.
According to Equifax, many homeowners have yet to renew their mortgages, so the full impact of higher interest rates is yet to be felt, but young Canadians are feeling the pinch of inflation particularly hard.
Non-mortgage debt levels increased 5.4% in the fourth quarter, while millennial debt increased 8.4%.
Consumers without mortgages saw the biggest spike in defaults in the fourth quarter, with delinquency rates among 18-25 year olds up almost 31% year-on-year, compared with a 17% increase across all consumers. % increased.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on March 9, 2023.
