Debt and family type in Canada - ARCHIVED

Although Canada fared better in the 2008 economic downturn than many other countries, increasing levels of household debt remain a concern. This article explores rising levels of household debt over the past 40 years using National Accounts data. It also uses data from the 2009 Canadian Financial Capability Survey to examine which types of families are most likely to experience high levels of debt - that is, to make debt payments greater than 40% of their pre-tax household income, to have a debt-to-asset ratio of over 80%, and to have a high debt-to-income ratio relative to other family types.