Albertans lead country in debt and delinquencies again

Albertans continue to have the dubious distinction of carrying the highest debt load and delinquencies of any other province, according toEquifax.

The national average for delinquency rates is rising 3.2 per cent year over yearwhile Alberta'sincreased 23.1per cent in the same period, said the Equifax Q1 2016 National Consumer Trends Report.

The average debt of Albertans is $27,473 with Calgarians singled out for surpassing the national average with about$1,000 more, sitting at$28,332. Edmonton follows closely behind Calgarywith an average consumer debt of$26,418.

"It's not surprising at all given our current economic conditions inAlberta,especially given that Albertans tend to keep up with the Joneses a little more. Ourculture here is everyone here carries debt and credit card debt,"said Angela Lock, a licensed insolvency trustee with GrantThorntonan accounting and business advisory firm.

"So whenthings go wrong, we don't have the emergency funds to rely on, and keeping up with that credit card payment can be more difficult," Locke added.

Delinquency typically means being unable to keep up with minimum payments, she said.

• Albertans have highest debt load in Canada, Equifax says
• Alberta's consumer debt delinquencies spike as nation's hit record low

"While most consumers are tightening up on their spending, partially due to seasonal spending, a significant number of consumers are still adding to their debt obligations," said Regina Malina, senior director of decision insights at Equifax Canada, in a release.

"While overall debt has continued to increase on an annual basis, one has to take a closer look at specific sub-groups to see the full picture."

Nationally, total consumer debt continues to increase.

The report notes as of the first quarter, Canadian consumers owe $1.618billioncompared to $1.611billion in fourth quarter last year.A year earlier, the combined consumer debt was $1.544billion.

Other noteworthy items in the report include:

• On a debt classification basis, the instalment and auto loan sectors show notableincreases of 7.7 per cent and 5.9 per cent year-over-year, respectively.
• A majority of Canadians are holding steady on paying off monthly credit balances each month.