Household debt rises, led by mortgages

Household debt levels climbed in May, led by growth in mortgage debt and credit card balances, according to new data from Statistics Canada.

The national statistical agency reported that total household credit liabilities rose by 0.4% in May to $3.1 trillion — an increase of $12.1 billion.

The rise in household borrowing was driven by a 0.5% rise in mortgage debt during the month, an increase of $10.6 billion to $2.3 trillion.

The monthly rise in mortgage borrowing accelerated from the 0.35% increase recorded in April.

At the same time, non-mortgage borrowing increased much more slowly. It rose 0.2% month-over-month in May, down from a 0.5% growth rate in April.

Despite the slower growth in non-mortgage borrowing overall, credit card balances rose by $1.1 billion in the month — an increase of almost 1% from April. 

This was partly offset by a retreat in households’ use of lines of credit. Excluding home equity lines of credit (HELOCs), borrowing through lines of credit declined by about $300 million in May, Statistics Canada data showed.

James Langton

James is a senior reporter for Advisor.ca and its sister publication, Investment Executive. He has been reporting on regulation, securities law, industry news and more since 1994.