A senior official at the Bank of Canada says the number of highly indebted households appears to be back on the rise as pandemic aid from governments winds down.
In a speech to a conference held by the Ontario Securities Commission, deputy governor Paul Beaudry says unprecedented federal aid and restrictions that limited where consumers could spend helped bolster the finances of Canadian households during the pandemic.
But now he says that vulnerabilities linked to elevated household debt appear to be on the rise again after a slight pause.
鈥淲e are particularly worried about very highly indebted households because these are households that will have much more difficulty reacting to shocks,鈥 he said Tuesday.
Beaudry said some people were able to repay debts during the pandemic, but there were also new borrowers taking on new debt to buy homes.
He noted that bank calculations suggest the share of highly indebted households should this year surpass the pre-pandemic peak recorded in 2019.
鈥淲e're back to seeing this increased indebtedness among people,鈥 he said.
Beaudry pointed to a long period of historically low interest rates as a reason for why households took on more debt, adding the economy is also likely now more sensitive to any increase in borrowing costs.
The warning about household debt comes as the central bank prepares to raise its key policy rate as early as April from its rock-bottom level of 0.25 per cent, where it has been since the onset of the pandemic.
The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions and federal government announced plans earlier this year to tighten the mortgage stress test to make sure buyers could handle payments if interest rates rose.
Those actions may have encouraged some buyers to wait until they have a larger down payment, and others to buy a less expensive house, Beaudry said in the text of his speech to an Ontario Securities Commission conference.
But any moderation in housing prices appear to be reversing, largely a result of too many buyers and not enough supply to keep up with demand, he said.
Beaudry said a bank analysis suggests many Canadians are buying homes as investment properties that are similarly fuelling price increases.
If that's the case, expectations of future price increases could become self-fulfilling, at least for a while, leading to a higher chance of a market correction, he said.
The damage from that would spread far beyond investors, Beaudry says, noting that many households' wealth and access to low-cost credit are tied to the value of their home.
鈥淣one of that is to say a calamity is on the horizon,鈥 he said in the text of his speech.
鈥淣evertheless, a drop in housing prices could significantly affect household spending, with repercussions for employment - even if it didn't put the financial system at risk.鈥
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 23, 2021.
Luis Armando Albino was six years old in 1951 when he was abducted while playing at an Oakland, Calif., park. Now, more than seven decades later, Albino has been found thanks to help from an online ancestry test, old photos and newspaper clippings.
The prime minister's official itinerary says the interview will be shot during his trip to New York, where he is meeting with other world leaders ahead of the 78th gathering of the United Nations General Assembly.
An Edmonton man says he was in the wrong place at the wrong time when he was injured by members of the Edmonton Police Service last year.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told delegates at the United Nations the world is at a global inflection point, having a choice between walking away from multilateralism or setting differences aside to confront serious global challenges.
The brother of a 27-year-old man who was fatally shot in Scarborough over the weekend has been arrested and charged in connection with his death, say police.
Kate, the Princess of Wales, made her first public appearance Sunday since she announced she had completed chemotherapy and would return to some public duties.
Comedian John Mulaney and actor Olivia Munn now have a second child, a daughter named Mei June Mulaney.
The head of the Air Canada pilots union says she'll step down if members opt not to approve a tentative deal with the airline, raising the stakes as aviators mull whether to accept hefty salary gains or drive an even harder bargain.
The Royal Canadian Mint has introduced its latest Gold Maple Leaf bullion coin 鈥 made entirely from gold sourced from a single mine in northern Ontario
The Royal Canadian Mint has introduced its latest Gold Maple Leaf bullion coin 鈥 made entirely from gold sourced from a single mine in northern Ontario
Ontario's police watchdog has decided there are no grounds to believe Sudbury police committed a crime during a difficult arrest in May where the suspect's neck was broken.
The City of Calgary ended water restrictions for the city at a Sunday morning update.
The brother of a 27-year-old man who was fatally shot in Scarborough over the weekend has been arrested and charged in connection with his death, say police.
A man is facing numerous drug trafficking charges after Dufferin OPP seized a large assortment of drugs and weapons in Orangeville earlier this week.
Pasquale Monaco says he鈥檚 debating whether to keep renting out the two-bedroom basement apartment of the Montreal building he owns after it was flooded 鈥 again 鈥 in August, when the remnants of tropical storm Debby sent four feet of water rushing into the space.
North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson avoided directly weighing in during a gubernatorial campaign event Saturday on a CNN report outlining evidence that he made disturbing posts on a pornography website's message board more than a decade ago.
An explosion in a coal mine in eastern Iran killed at least 33 workers and injured 17 others, officials said Sunday, marking one of the worst mining disasters in the country's history as others remained missing hours after the blast.
More than a year after the Titan submersible imploded, killing all five voyagers on board, the story of the ill-fated expedition to the Titanic has taken the form of a modern-day Greek tragedy overflowing with mortal pride and heedlessness.
In less than two months, Americans will go to the polls to choose their next president. But the process that translates those millions of votes into one seat in the Oval Office is much more complicated than a straight tally.
Donald Trump has long pledged to deport millions of people, but he's bringing more specifics to his current bid for the White House: invoking wartime powers, relying on like-minded governors and using the military.
At least two students at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania have been suspended from the swim team after a report that a racial slur was scratched onto a student's body, officials said.
The prime minister's official itinerary says the interview will be shot during his trip to New York, where he is meeting with other world leaders ahead of the 78th gathering of the United Nations General Assembly.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to be in New York this week for the 78th meeting of the United Nations General Assembly and the Summit of the Future amid increasing geopolitical instability around the world.
A $2.14-billion federal loan for an Ottawa-based satellite operator has Canadian politicians arguing about whether American billionaire Elon Musk poses a national security risk.
Body mass index, a long-time tool used to measure a person's health, may soon be out the door as some health professionals push for a system they say is more accurate.
Infectious disease physician Dr. Isaac Bogoch says whooping cough is most risky for unvaccinated infants, children and older people.
A morning cup of coffee may do more than just perk you up, according to new research.
If something looks too good to be true, it might be. That's the message from Saskatchewan horticulturists after customers have come into their stores hoping to buy purple apple trees this month.
The owner of the shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear power plant said Friday that it plans to restart the reactor under a 20-year agreement that calls for tech giant Microsoft to buy the power to supply its data centers with carbon-free energy.
Lebanese authorities on Thursday banned walkie-talkies and pagers from being taken on flights from Beirut airport, the National News Agency reported, after thousands of such devices exploded during a deadly attack on Hezbollah this week.
Comedian John Mulaney and actor Olivia Munn now have a second child, a daughter named Mei June Mulaney.
Tim Burton's legacy sequel to the 1988 horror comedy topped the North American box office charts for a third
A Nova Scotian YouTuber has launched a mini-truck bookmobile.
The head of the Air Canada pilots union says she'll step down if members opt not to approve a tentative deal with the airline, raising the stakes as aviators mull whether to accept hefty salary gains or drive an even harder bargain.
It鈥檚 not easy going up against Canada鈥檚 banking oligopoly, but some are trying.
It is not a great time to be a coffee drinker. In general, coffee bean prices are the highest they've been in more than a decade.
Nick Kolomyja reckons axe throwing may have saved his life.
More than 2,200 zoo professionals from 23 different countries have gathered in Calgary for the annual Association of Zoos and Aquariums conference.
Tattoos are becoming more common in today's society and, as a result, appear to be more acceptable in the workplace than they used to be.
After Sunday's loss, the White Sox are 36-120 with six regular-season games to go in 2024.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have a nickname for the opposition鈥檚 end zone. They refer to it as the 鈥渃hicken box.鈥
Jonathan Aranda homered for the second consecutive game, helping Taj Bradley and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-2 on Saturday.
Unifor says workers at General Motors' CAMI assembly plant and battery facility in southwestern Ontario have ratified a new collective agreement.
General Motors (GM) has issued a recall for 38,000 vehicles for safety risks related to a software glitch, Transport Canada reported in a notice on Wednesday.
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has accused Tesla CEO Elon Musk of 'remotely disabling' his Cybertruck, which had been sent to the frontline of Russia's war in Ukraine.
Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.
Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.
An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.
They say a dog is a man鈥檚 best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.
A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.
Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.
The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.
It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.
One man is dead and another injured after a shooting in Langley Saturday evening that homicide investigators say is gang-related.
Anyone needing emergency care in a city in B.C.鈥檚 southern Interior will need to seek help elsewhere until Monday, as the latest ER closure in the region has shuttered the department鈥檚 doors for 25 hours.
The two top contenders in British Columbia's provincial election dove deep into the various issues plaguing the Metro Vancouver area on Sunday, in some cases hearing directly from those most affected.
The brother of a 27-year-old man who was fatally shot in Scarborough over the weekend has been arrested and charged in connection with his death, say police.
A driver and a motorcyclist are receiving treatment at the hospital after colliding on Sunday evening in north Etobicoke.
A young person riding a dirt bike has been taken to the hospital with serious injuries following a collision in Brampton, say paramedics.
The City of Calgary ended water restrictions for the city at a Sunday morning update.
Nearly 100 Inglewood residents rallied Saturday afternoon in a continuing effort to save the Inglewood Aquatic Centre.
Nick Kolomyja reckons axe throwing may have saved his life.
Thousands participated in the 17th annual Canada Army Run Sunday in the capital's downtown.
Police are looking to speak with a female who was a passenger in a stolen vehicle that was recovered early Saturday morning in Kanata.
It's been one year since Michael Andlauer took over ownership of the Ottawa Senators and on Saturday, he spoke for the first time about the tentative deal for a new arena at LeBreton Flats.
Provincial police (SQ) are looking for 29-year-old Kelsey Watt, who went missing in Hemmingford, Que.
Nearly 15,000 runners pounded the pavement on Sunday in the 32nd edition of Montreal鈥檚 Bereva Marathon.
麻豆传媒 Montreal at Six for Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024 with anchor Matt Gilmour.
An Edmonton man says he was in the wrong place at the wrong time when he was injured by members of the Edmonton Police Service last year.
One person is dead after an early morning crash in west Edmonton.
Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch was happy with his team鈥檚 start to exhibition play, especially considering not a single player in his lineup on Sunday played with the club during its lengthy recent playoff run.
Saint John Theatre Company鈥檚 鈥淲aiting for Godot鈥 stars former "Corner Gas" star Eric Peterson, and R.H. Thomson, known for his role in "Anne with an E."
A 76-year-old man who was reported missing Saturday in Annapolis District, N.S., has been found deceased.
The head of the Air Canada pilots union says she'll step down if members opt not to approve a tentative deal with the airline, raising the stakes as aviators mull whether to accept hefty salary gains or drive an even harder bargain.
Manitoba RCMP and community members are still feverishly searching for a six-year-old boy who went missing five days ago.
Winnipeg police called in the bomb unit Saturday night after a suspicious item was found in a Centennial neighbourhood back lane.
While slang may come and go, experts say the phenomenon behind them, which constantly churns out brand-new bon mots, is as old as language itself.
The Philippine Association of Saskatchewan welcomed all newcomers to Regina on Sunday during its third annual Kabayan event.
Fire officials are investigating after a fire completely destroyed the community fridge in the Cathedral neighbourhood.
The last two months after losing her daughter Bella have been extremely difficult for Kyla Thomson.
Brantford, Ont. residents were met with an unexpected sight on Saturday evening as a suspected funnel cloud appeared in the skies above the city.
Police were called to a business in the area of University Avenue East and Weber Street North at around 10:40 p.m. Saturday for a report of a man attempting to stab another man.
Police said the pedestrian, a 52-year-old man, was taken to an out-of-region hospital with life-threatening injuries and the driver of the vehicle failed to remain at the scene.
A 14-year-old girl from Flying Dust First Nation was killed after a high-speed ATV struck a ditch near Meadow Lake.
The 75-year-old building, formerly the Waskesiu Chamber of Commerce building, was relocated to the Parks Canada compound on the edge of the townsite.
A 53-year-old woman from north Vancouver, B.C. was killed after a semi and truck collided on Highway 16 near Dafoe.
There were no injuries reported after a fired damaged a home on Regent Street near Douglas Street in Greater Sudbury鈥檚 west end on Sunday morning.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told delegates at the United Nations the world is at a global inflection point, having a choice between walking away from multilateralism or setting differences aside to confront serious global challenges.
Ontario鈥檚 police watchdog is investigating after an Ontario Provincial Police officer discharged his firearm at a 36-year-old man in near Moonbeam, Ont., on Friday night.
The identity of a motorcyclist has been revealed by loved ones on social media following Friday鈥檚 fatal south end collision in London. The London Police Service has not released anything regarding the driver鈥檚 identity.
The most popular hockey podcasters on the planet brought some major attention to the Forest City this weekend with the annual Chiclets Cup.
Wage increases, new paid holidays and a big signing bonus are part of the new contract for CAMI employees in Ingersoll, Ont.
One man is in police custody after fabricating a story to police and reporting his vehicle was stolen.
Fire crews worked to extinguish a fire at a tent encampment in Barrie on Sunday.
A year after being recognized as one of 19 鈥楤ee Campuses鈥 by Bee City Canada, Georgian College continues to promote the importance of bees to agriculture, the economy and education.
As the City of Windsor celebrates the first east-end edition of its popular Open Streets event, officials say it likely won't be the last.
Essex-Windsor Emergency Medical Services (EMS) is reporting that it鈥檚 above the provincial target for sudden cardiac arrest response times.
The Amherstburg Uncommon Festival is living up to its name with the addition of a drone light show 鈥 a first for Essex County.
Work crews have been busy in the British Columbia legislature over the summer, prying apart desks in the historic chamber and piling them up in hallways as they tried to work out how to fit in six more seats.
The two top contenders in British Columbia's provincial election dove deep into the various issues plaguing the Metro Vancouver area on Sunday, in some cases hearing directly from those most affected.
A Victoria woman is now $1 million richer after winning a Maxmillions prize on a recent Lotto Max Draw.
A pair of runaway pigs are in the custody of an animal sanctuary in the Okanagan after evading police and volunteers for hours earlier this week.
The Red Bridge, a historic landmark in Kamloops, B.C., was completely destroyed by fire early Thursday morning.
Animal protection officers in British Columbia have rescued three pit bulls 鈥 including one that gave birth to 10 puppies 鈥 from a rat-infested home in Kelowna.
Despite the heavy rain, plenty of muscle turned up for United Way鈥檚 annual Pull the Bus fundraiser in Lethbridge Friday.
Lethbridge County has rescinded its fire restriction as a result of the recent cool, wet weathr.
The Lethbridge Hurricanes kicked off the 2024-25 season on a winning note Friday night, defeating the Edmonton Oil Kings 3-1 in a game played at VisitLethbridge.com Arena.
The Royal Canadian Mint has introduced its latest Gold Maple Leaf bullion coin 鈥 made entirely from gold sourced from a single mine in northern Ontario
A northern Ontario man is facing a $12,000 fine after illegally shooting a moose near the Batchawan River.
Following an outbreak of COVID-19 on its continuing care floor and just ahead of the flu season, St. Joseph鈥檚 General Hospital in Elliot Lake has opted to re-introduce a universal masking policy until further notice.
Newfoundland and Labrador sponsored a minor football team in England, now they鈥檙e about to play one of the biggest clubs in European soccer.
Newfoundland and Labrador's chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
A 16-year-old biennial event aimed at fostering business in the country's eastern Arctic and northern regions has been cancelled indefinitely as a dispute unfolds between Inuit in Canada and a Labrador group claiming to share their heritage.
The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at 麻豆传媒. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop.聽Read about us.
