Overview
- Equifax’s Q1 2026 report, published May 26, shows Ontario’s 90-plus-day mortgage delinquency rate rose to 0.36 percent, a 52 percent year-over-year increase, and B.C.’s rose to 0.25 percent, up 36 percent.
- The fastest city-level rises were in the Greater Toronto Area with Toronto up 58 percent to 0.38 percent, Brampton up 64 percent to 0.64 percent, and Hamilton up 61 percent to 0.20 percent.
- Homeowners with mortgages filing for insolvency climbed to 4,512 in Q1, an 18.3 percent year-over-year increase, and they are entering insolvency faster than non-homeowners.
- Household balances are large and growing: the average delinquent mortgage balance was $355,500 (up 13.2 percent) and delinquent non-mortgage balances averaged $54,000, while homeowners’ average non-mortgage debt reached $82,400.
- Analysts say the spike reflects a ‘payment shock’ as borrowers who locked sub-2 percent five-year rates in 2021 renew at rates above 4 percent, and they warn that rising unemployment or higher global bond yields could push more homeowners into missed payments.