Jose Gustavo Salcedo

Canadian households added $19.4B in mortgage debt in a past quarter, the slowest pace since Early-Q1 2024, even with stronger home resale activity.
Overall household borrowing totaled $29.4B in that quarter, including $10B from non-mortgage borrowing, reflecting slower credit growth across household balance sheets overall.
Home resale value ↑~7% quarterly, yet activity still logged its weakest second quarter since 2021, while residential Real Estate value stayed ↓~0.3% yearly.
Debt burdens improved as disposable income ↑~2%, outpacing total debt payments ↑~1%, helping debt-to-income and debt-service ratios fall to one-year lows overall.
Mortgage interest payments still ↑~1.5%, and an economist expected debt-service costs to face upside pressure as mortgage resets peaked, even with resilient consumer spending.

Canadian Mortgage Borrowing Slows to Weakest Pace Since 2024

In Mid-Q3, Canada’s CPI held near 3% yearly, while prices dipped slightly MoM and still edged higher after seasonal adjustment, signaling steady overall inflation.
The central bank’s preferred core gauges stayed ~2% yearly in Mid-Q3, aligning with its target midpoint and supporting a seventh straight decision to hold.
Energy and travel kept pressure on prices, with gasoline up ~23% yearly and travel tours up ~26%, while grocery inflation eased below the headline pace.
Shelter costs kept creeping higher as national rent inflation reached ~3% in Mid-Q3, while dairy helped slow grocery growth to roughly the same pace.
Late-Q3 oil above US$100 a barrel and new tariffs had not yet fully reached CPI, so rate conversations stayed cautious for clients.
The Early-Q4 rate decision arrives with a policy report, making that meeting the second half of 2026’s most consequential one for markets.