Canadian personal debt rises 2011. Canadian households continued to dig themselves further into debt in the first quarter as more people took out mortgages at ultra-low rates, according to Statistics Canada data released on Monday.
The ratio of household credit market debt, which includes mortgages, consumer credit and loans, to disposable income rose to 147.3 percent in the first quarter from a revised 146.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Statscan said consumer credit grew at a slower rate than before as Canadians spent less on consumer goods, but mortgage debt advanced, "reflecting relatively stable borrowing costs as well as higher housing resale and renovation activities."

The figures reflect new accounting standards for the first time.

The Bank of Canada warned last week that Canadians are now as deeply indebted as the Americans and the British and that the number who are vulnerable to an adverse economic shock has risen to its highest level in nine years.

Household net worth per capita rose to C$184,700 from C$183,300 in the fourth quarter and as a percentage of disposable income was relatively stable at 620 percent, Statscan said.

Source: reuters