More Canadians are falling behind on their mortgages

Mortgages in arrears, September

0.29 %

Some 0.29 per cent of Canadian mortgages were in arrears in September, double the 0.14 per cent of August 2022, according to the Macdonald-Laurier Institute's Benchmark Canada project.

Canada still has the second-lowest rate in the G7, behind Japan at 0.20 per cent; it is 1.43 per cent in the United States and 2.10 per cent in Italy.

“You find you can't sell it, or if you sell it, it doesn't cover the mortgage,” said mortgage broker Ron Butler of condo investors facing higher costs, lower rents and more vacancies.

— Ron Butler, mortgage broker

CIBC deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal says the rise comes as borrowers renew loans taken at very low rates in 2021, and that steep payment increases at renewal have likely peaked.

Saskatchewan has the highest arrears rate in the country at 0.46 per cent, followed by Manitoba and Ontario at 0.34 per cent, according to the Canadian Bankers Association.