The House of Commons Finance Committee met to study household debt in Canada. Witnesses included Shereen Benzvy Miller, Commissioner of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC); Elisabeth Lang, Superintendent of Bankruptcy; Jennifer Withington, Assistant Chief Statistician at Statistics Canada; Charles St-Arnaud, Chief Economist at Servus Credit Union; Jeffrey Schwartz, Executive Director of Consolidated Credit Canada; and Guyllaume Amiot, a Licensed Insolvency Trustee at Raymond Chabot Inc.
Shereen Benzvy Miller reported that 40% of Canadians said their debt increased in 2025, up from 35% in 2020, and nearly two-thirds carry non-mortgage debt. She highlighted FCAC’s work, including a 2023 guideline that led banks to contact holders of over 165,000 at-risk mortgages, helping Canadians avoid over $7.85 million in late fees, and noted that since 2024, more than $130 million has been reimbursed to consumers due to FCAC enforcement. She recommended continued use of tools like low-cost accounts, NSF fee caps, and e-alerts to help vulnerable Canadians, and stressed that the entire financial ecosystem must support better consumer outcomes.
Elisabeth Lang stated that consumer insolvency filings were just over 140,000 in 2025, with the rate remaining relatively stable for over a decade at 4.2 to 4.6 filings per 1,000 people, excluding the pandemic years. She noted that insolvency is a lagging indicator and that financially distressed Canadians often delay filing, and she highlighted ongoing regulatory consultations to improve efficiency and address risks from misleading debt advisers. She agreed with Mr. St-Arnaud that conditions are ripe for rising insolvencies if unemployment increases.
Jennifer Withington reported that household debt surpassed $3.2 trillion at the end of 2025, with $1.77 in debt per dollar of disposable income, and that debt-servicing costs represent roughly 15% of income, compared to 9.4% for food. She noted that the income and wealth gap between the lowest two quintiles and the highest has started to reverse course since 2022, and that younger households have delayed home ownership while older households increased mortgage debt, possibly to assist younger relatives. She agreed with Mr. Leitão that the most vulnerable are those with high non-mortgage debt and few assets.
Charles St-Arnaud argued that Canada’s high household debt, third-highest among 44 countries tracked by the Bank for International Settlements, makes the economy more vulnerable to shocks, especially job losses. He said that while households have adapted by lengthening amortizations, this flexibility depends on solid income, and any significant rise in layoffs could trigger a wave of insolvencies. He also stated that constant household borrowing has crowded out business investment, hurting productivity growth, and that the affordability crisis is as much about underperforming incomes as rising costs.
Jeffrey Schwartz said his non-profit agency helped about 125,000 Canadians in the past year, with average unsecured debt near $20,000, and that financial literacy education is the best defence against debt. He identified a “free-rider problem” where some large financial institutions benefit from his agency’s services without contributing funding, and he asked the government to use moral suasion, such as through a proposed code of conduct on economic abuse, to set expectations that all banks provide annual financial support to accredited non-profit credit counselling agencies. He added that public disclosure of institutional participation would encourage fair play without prescriptive legislation.
Guyllaume Amiot reported that new consumer groups, including seniors, workers with fluctuating incomes, and single-parent families, are increasingly appearing in insolvency cases, often driven by a succession of cost increases rather than a single bad choice. He noted that many households use credit cards as a survival tool for daily expenses, and that online fraud and misinformation on social media are growing problems. He recommended that the regulatory framework for licensed insolvency trustees evolve to facilitate access to simplified proceedings and adapt trustee compensation, and he agreed with Mr. Garon that requiring financial advisers on social media to disclose their qualifications could help combat misinformation.
The committee also heard from FCAC deputy commissioners Manon Bombardier and Frank Lofranco, and Statistics Canada officials Matthew Hoffarth and Eric Olson. Bombardier noted that FCAC’s experiments show simple nudges can improve financial behaviour, such as a 35% reduction in credit card debt among participants. Lofranco highlighted that since 2022, a financial consumer protection framework introduced 60 new measures, and that over the past year, more than $100 million in remediation went to consumers harmed by non-compliance, with over 400 enforcement actions taken. Hoffarth added that for the lowest income quintile, the debt-to-income ratio reached 433% at the end of 2025, and that their transportation, shelter, and food costs can exceed their disposable income. No procedural debate, motions, or votes occurred during this meeting.
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