More credit card debt likely for 1 in 5 as Canadians focus on ‘surviving’
Global News
The survey from TransUnion also found about 26 per cent of Canadians said they expect to be unable to pay at least one bill or loan in full in 2025.
More than one in five Canadians expect to take on more debt in 2025, mostly via credit cards, according to a TransUnion consumer report that experts say shows many focus on “surviving.”
TransUnion’s fourth quarter Consumer Pulse study, released on Tuesday, surveyed 1,000 adults between Sept. 25 and Oct. 6 about their expectations for 2025.
That study found about 22 per cent of Canadians plan to take on more debt either by applying for new or refinancing existing credit in 2025.
According to TransUnion, the type of credit product most favoured is credit cards with 43 per cent of that one in five people planning to apply. The next type of loan activity is increasing available credit on a current card.
The expectation of taking on more debt comes even as the Bank of Canada continues to lower its key interest rate and inflation continues to cool.
But Matthew Fabian, TransUnion Canada’s director of financial services research and consulting, said though both are coming down there is a “lag effect” for Canadians to see the benefit due to the financial strains they faced previous years.
“Cost of living was up at the same time the cost of debt was higher, especially if you had something like a mortgage, and interest rates went up, all of a sudden it cost you more to carry that debt, and so that combination really stressed a lot of consumers wallets and created what we call this payment shock,” Fabian said.
About 44 per cent of households said their finances were worse than they planned for 2024 despite more than half saying their income remained the same for the previous three months, with no expectation it would change in the following year.
Another year has come to a close and with it, Saskatchewan RCMP are looking back on some of the calls they received in 2024.
The rollout of the European Travel Information and Authorisation System that was due to launch last year has been delayed. Here's what to know.
Prorogation means planned new spending, like the $1.3 billion announced last month in the federal government's new border security plan, is in limbo.
The popular game show features 81 teams from Canada and the United States competing in a tournament-style format.
On Tuesday, Energy and Electrification Minister Stephen Lecce unveiled a new rebates program as part of the government's 12-year, $11-billion energy efficiency program.
When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his pending resignation and prorogued Parliament, planned changes to how capital gains will be taxed were left in limbo.
The outgoing U.S. president listed a range of issues that he and Trudeau worked on together, 'from the COVID-19 pandemic, to climate change, to the scourge of fentanyl.’
Justin Trudeau's decision to step down and prorogue Parliament will keep his government from implementing its proposed changes to capital gains for now.
Greater Toronto home sales fell slightly last month to cap a year that saw buyers take advantage of "substantial negotiating power" on price.
Justin Trudeau was first elected to the riding of Papineau in 2008. It's considered one of the most diverse and immigrant-rich ridings in the country.
The ongoing search for justice in the case of Megan Gallagher's death continued in court Monday, with two women facing charges in the murder taking the stand.