Canadians' Debt Grows, Net Worth Plummets

Keep on spendin' in the free world...

Thanks to the topsy-turvy world of stock markets, the average household in Canada was worth $4,600 less in the third quarter of 2011 than in the quarter before, according to Statistics Canada. And that's not all the benevolent statistical agency informs us of today, as Canadians' levels of debt also jumped to new highs. That $4,600 drop – from $184,700 to $180,100, was due mostly to stock market fluctuations that hurt pensions and mutual funds. The debt levels are also worrying, as the average debt load jumped by $600 in the third quarter, and up more than $2,000 since the year before. The average household now has $46,100 of debt, high enough of a debt-to-income ratio of 150 per cent – higher than both the U.K. and the U.S. All told, Canadians carry $1 trillion in mortgages and another $448 billion in credit card debt.