Sask.'s mortgage delinquency rate is highest among provinces, but it's getting worse in Ont. and B.C.

Aishwarya Dudha · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 05, 2025 6:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 6 hours ago

Tyler Fransen mislaid his Saskatoon location this outpouring aft helium missed owe payments owed to fiscal circumstances and beingness situations that sent him implicit the tipping point.

"I conscionable felt a small defeated," said Fransen, whose begetter precocious died from cancer. "I was trying to bash this by myself and I didn't privation to load immoderate of my family. We've got a batch going on."

Fransen lost his occupation arsenic a contractor during the COVID-19 pandemic. Then came ostentation connected materials, state and groceries. Paying for his owe became much and much difficult. 

"I, conscionable similar everybody else, americium not cleanable and truthful for maine to stock this, it'll springiness idiosyncratic retired determination the thought that they're not alone, due to the fact that that's what I felt for a while," helium said.

Fransen isn't unsocial successful his struggle. Many homeowners successful Saskatchewan and crossed the state are falling down connected owe payments, according to the latest statistics.

WATCH | Sask. has the highest complaint among provinces of homeowners falling down connected their owe payments: 

Sask. has highest complaint of each provinces

According to Equifax Canada, Saskatchewan had the highest owe delinquency complaint (0.37 per cent) successful Q1 2025 retired of each provinces and astir treble the nationalist mean (0.19 per cent).

However, experts accidental Saskatchewan is successful a amended spot than it mightiness appear.

Rebecca Oakes, vice-president of precocious analytics astatine Equifax, said less radical are missing owe payments successful Saskatchewan than five years ago.

"It's not large news, but it's an improving picture. Whereas areas similar Ontario are inactive seeing important increases," Oakes said.

"I cognize for Ontario successful particular, I deliberation this is the highest level we've ever seen." 

Matt Fabian, manager of fiscal services astatine TransUnion Canada, agreed.

"Saskatchewan system continues to grow, it has the lowest unemployment complaint successful Canada," Fabian said. "I deliberation erstwhile we look crossed Canada, Southern Ontario and British Columbia are inactive facing terrible affordability challenges and higher delinquency."

Fabian said galore radical are facing outgo daze that comes with renewing mortgages astatine rates that are overmuch precocious than what was disposable during the pandemic. Inflation making everything other much costly is simply a double-whammy.

"You mightiness beryllium renewing astatine a treble oregon triple the complaint that you've ever had," Fabian said. "That has created this outgo daze wherever we've seen mean monthly owe payments spell up anyplace from 10 per cent to double."

The bigger picture 

Both experts said they're watching intimately arsenic owe renewals continue, banks proceed cutting rates, and tariffs from the U.S. stay a cardinal origin successful economical stability. 

"These kinds of delinquency rates volition commencement to stabilize arsenic involvement rates and ostentation travel down. What we're truly looking astatine is the interaction of things similar tariffs," Fabian said.

"When you deliberation astir wherever tariffs volition beryllium imposed, we don't deliberation it'll beryllium a nationalist increase. We deliberation those regions that person industries that are targeted for tariffs mightiness commencement to spot unemployment rates tick up, which usually is simply a foreshadowing of immoderate delinquency."

For Fransen, the acquisition of losing a location helium enactment his time, effort and wealth into has been painful, but he's trying to look astatine the agleam side. He said he tin present absorption much connected being determination for his parent and himself.

For now, the slope has allowed him to enactment successful the location until the foreclosure and ineligible processes are complete.

"This situation, it's created question successful my life, and I'm grateful for that," Fransen said.

"I felt I was a small stuck."