The financial gap between Canadian homeowners and non-homeowners has increased, according to a report published by Equifax Canada.
Per the report, roughly one in 19 non-homeowners missed at least one credit payment while just 1 in 37 homeowners did. The average non-mortgage debt rose to $22,147 per consumer.
The under-36 crowd has been affected in particular; compared to the previous year, millennials and Gen Z’s average non-mortgage debt increased to $14,304 – a 2 percent uptick. Their 90-plus days non-mortgage balance delinquency rate increased by 19.7 percent year-over-year to 2.35 percent.
“The affordability crisis seems to be hitting younger consumers the hardest. Between rising costs, employment uncertainty, and limited access to affordable credit, many are struggling just to stay afloat,” said Rebecca Oakes, Equifax Canada’s vice-president of advanced analytics, in a statement published by The Canadian Press.
Oakes cited high unemployment and economic uncertainty exacerbated by trade issues as factors in Canadians’ financial struggle. Nonetheless, while 1.4 million Canadians overall missed credit payments in the second quarter of 2025, this figure was slightly lower than the previous quarter’s.
The report also suggested that homeowners who capitalized on low mortgage rates at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic may be paying more at 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,” Oakes said in a statement published by The Canadian Press.
Delinquency was up in Ontario, which recorded a 90-plus day delinquency rate of 1.75 percent – 15.2 basis points above the national average. Toronto and its surrounding area, which are in the vicinity of auto and steel sectors impacted by tariffs, reported high missed payments rates. Nonetheless, the gap between homeowning and non-homeowning Ontarians has begun to narrow since it peaked in 2024.
Equifax Canada reported that total consumer debt was $2.58 trillion, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 3.1 percent.