Ontario sees huge surge in people not paying their housing and other bills

Even with interest rates on the decline, people in Ontario are struggling with an ongoing affordability crisis when it comes to all sorts of goods and services — especially keeping a roof over their heads.

On the tail of the news that accumulated mortgage debt in the province surpassed a record high of $1 billion by the end of last year, stats show that the number of people in the province who are unable to pay their housing and other bills on time continues to grow.

Based on the numbers from an Equifax Canada report published Tuesday, the number of homeowners who are late on one or more monthly installments on their mortgage has swelled 66.8 per cent from the same time last year.

This marks the highest mortgage delinquency rates Ontario has seen since 2014, with over 3,000 home loans in what lenders consider “severe delinquency” territory.

While the report notes that “inflation is stabilizing and interest rates are starting to reduce, which is good news for many consumers,” it adds that “rising unemployment has unfortunately offset some of the positives and is driving increased financial stress.”

Similarly, more and more residents are struggling to pay their car and credit card bills, with Equifax writing that “auto loan delinquency rates for non-bank auto lenders have reached a historic high” and “credit cards have continued to be the primary driver of rising debt” across Canada.

Canadian customers now owe a staggering combined $122 billion on their cards (13.7 per cent more last quarter than Q2 2023), with the average individual’s credit card debt now at $4,300, higher than any year in the last 17 and growing even with a slowdown in consumer spending.

Young people aged 26-35 were found to be the most likely to default on payments, particularly when it comes to car loans and lines of credit.