Finance Committee on April 13th, 2026

[The Vice-Chair (Jasraj Hallan (Calgary East, CPC)), Conservative, Jasraj Singh Hallan]

Good afternoon, everybody. I call this meeting to order.

Welcome to meeting number 32 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance.

Before we continue, I would ask all in-person participants to consult the guidelines written on the cards on the table. These measures are in place to help prevent audio and feedback incidents and to protect the health and safety of all participants, including the interpreters. You will also notice a QR code on the card, which links to a short awareness video.

I ask that you please wait until I recognize you by name before speaking. For those participating by video conference, click on the microphone icon to activate your mic. Please mute yourself when you are not speaking.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted by the committee on Monday, March 9, 2026, the committee is resuming its study of household debt in Canada.

I would like to welcome all of our witnesses. You will have five minutes for your opening remarks, after which we will open the floor to questions.

In this first panel, we have three organizations. We have the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy and Statistics Canada.

We'll start off with five minutes for each, in that order. We'll start with Financial Consumer Agency of Canada.

Go ahead.

[Shereen Benzvy Miller, Commissioner, Financial Consumer Agency of Canada]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Good afternoon, members of the committee. My name is Shereen Benzvy Miller. I'm the commissioner of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, or FCAC. I'm joined today by the deputy commissioner of insights, policy and financial literacy, Dr. Manon Bombardier, and deputy commissioner of supervision and enforcement, Frank Lofranco.

We welcome the opportunity to contribute to the committee’s study of household debt in Canada.

FCAC’s research shows that many Canadians are under real financial strain.

According to our monthly financial well-being survey, 40% of Canadians reported their debt had increased in 2025—up from 35% in 2020. Nearly two-thirds say they are carrying non-mortgage debt, with parents and those aged 35 to 54 being the most indebted.

Many organizations have expertise in household debt, including our colleagues here today, and previous witnesses before this committee.

For our part, we work at the intersection where consumers meet financial institutions and others in the financial ecosystem. FCAC's mandate is to protect financial consumers and to empower them to make informed financial decisions. Our role is to regulate consumer protection by supervising federally regulated financial entities, while also building financial literacy and studying trends and issues that affect Canadian financial decision-makers.

Understanding consumers' financial challenges enables the agency and its ecosystem partners to develop evidence-based approaches that strengthen Canadians' financial well-being. For example, in early 2023, our research showed that Canadians were struggling to manage their mortgages. In response, FCAC issued a supervisory guideline for banks to proactively contact mortgage holders who were showing signs of financial distress that could put them at risk of default. As of December 2025, account holders for more than 165,000 at-risk mortgages had been contacted by their banks, and Canadians had avoided over $7.85 million in late payment penalties and fees.

Another aspect of consumer protection relevant to the committee's study is our oversight of banks' compliance with disclosure requirements. Clear disclosure for products like credit cards, mortgages and lines of credit is essential to help consumers make informed decisions.

FCAC's supervisory focus is on preventing harm, but when serious market conduct breaches occur, we impose penalties and require banks to reimburse affected consumers. Since 2024, more than $130 million have been reimbursed to consumers and business accounts as a result of our work. In addition, over the last three years, regulated entities have paid nearly $27 million in penalties for violations of consumer protection provisions.

FCAC's research also supports data-informed policy development to respond to the evolving marketplace. Our research has contributed to ongoing legislative and regulatory changes to strengthen consumer protection and support financial well-being, including the financial consumer protection framework under the Bank Act the modernized commitment on low-cost, no-cost accounts, which took effect December 1, 2025, and new regulations capping non-sufficient fund fees at $10, which came into force last month. These changes benefit all Canadians, particularly those who are financially vulnerable.

We are now preparing a report on the structure, level and transparency of fees charged by Canadian banks, which will support the Department of Finance's work to improve competition and innovation in the banking sector. We are also reviewing banks' implementation of legislative requirements to offer financial products and services that are appropriate for consumers' needs and circumstances.

In closing, household debt is a significant challenge for many Canadians and FCAC will continue to do our part to support them with the tools available to us under our mandate.

Consumers should not face the debt challenge alone and no bank should profit from a poor consumer outcome. The onus is on the entire financial ecosystem, including governments, industry and not-for-profit organizations to support better outcomes for financial consumers.

With that, I conclude my remarks. I look forward to your questions. Thank you.

[The Vice-Chair (Jasraj Hallan), Conservative, Jasraj Singh Hallan]

Thank you, Ms. Miller. That was right on time.

Next, we have the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy.

[Elisabeth Lang, Superintendent of Bankruptcy, Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy]

Thank you, Mr. Chair and honourable members. Thank you for the invitation to appear before you today, and thank you to each of you for the important work you do on behalf of Canadians.

I'll deliver my remarks in English to avoid any interpretation challenges, but I would be pleased to answer questions in either official language.

I'll begin with a brief overview of the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, or OSB, and Canada's insolvency system, with a focus on consumer debtors. I'll then highlight a few key data points relevant to household debt in Canada.

A well-functioning insolvency system is a key pillar of the economy. It supports investment and creditor confidence, provides an orderly process for creditors and gives honest but unfortunate debtors a fresh financial start.

As superintendent of bankruptcy, a Governor in Council appointee, I carry out statutory oversight and enforcement responsibilities at arm's length from the government to help ensure that the system operates as intended. The OSB is a part of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and oversees the administration of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, as well as certain aspects of the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act.

We license and regulate insolvency trustees, supervise compliance, maintain public records and statistics, handle complaints and pursue civil and criminal enforcement when required. We also have directive-making authority, which allows us to respond nimbly to operational and market developments. The OSB is a vote-net organization and is almost entirely funded through levies and fees paid by system users.

Licensed insolvency trustees play a central role in the system. They are required to assess a debtor's financial situation and explore all available options, including non-insolvency options. For consumer debtors, formal insolvency options include bankruptcy or a consumer proposal, which allows assets to be retained while creditors vote on a repayment plan.

Upon filing, debtors benefit from a stay of proceedings, repay reasonable amounts based on their means and, if they meet their obligations, including participating in two insolvency counselling sessions, are discharged of most of their debts. Debtors have clear duties, including full disclosure and co-operation, and there are consequences for non-compliance. That said, most consumer debtors in Canada are honest and co-operative.

There were just over 137,000 consumer insolvency filings in 2019 and just over 140,000 in 2025. For context, the highest volume on record was during the 2009 recession, when more than 151,000 filings were recorded. This was at a time when Canada's population was smaller. It's important to highlight the fact that the insolvency rate in Canada has been relatively stable for over a decade, excluding the pandemic years, ranging between 4.2 and 4.6 filings per 1,000 since 2011.

Insolvency is also a lagging indicator, meaning that filings often rise after financial stress has already taken hold. Evidence also suggests that financially distressed Canadians often delay or avoid filing altogether, even when insolvent, which can limit their options and worsen their outcomes.

The OSB continually monitors system capacity and integrity. We recently concluded Canada Gazette, part I, consultations on regulatory changes aimed at improving efficiency and accessibility and we continue to look for channels to reduce red tape while strengthening enforcement tools.

Beyond regulation, consumer awareness is a key priority. We work closely with partners such as the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, provinces and territories, and the Canadian Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Professionals to stay abreast of key issues and to help Canadians find reliable debt advice early. We are also actively addressing risks in the debt advisory marketplace, in which some actors may mislead consumers or charge for unnecessary services, ultimately harming already vulnerable individuals.

Canada's insolvency system is well regarded internationally and plays a critical role in supporting both economic stability and individual financial recovery.

Thank you for the opportunity to appear, and I look forward to your questions.

[The Vice-Chair (Jasraj Hallan), Conservative, Jasraj Singh Hallan]

Thank you, Ms. Lang.

Next, we have Statistics Canada.

[Jennifer Withington, Assistant Chief Statistician, Economic Statistics, Statistics Canada]

Good afternoon.

Mr. Chair, members of the committee, thank you for your invitation.

My name is Jennifer Withington and I am the assistant chief statistician responsible for economic statistics.

With me today are Eric Olson and Matthew Hoffarth.

Today, we are here to share insights into Canadian household debt and financial vulnerabilities as captured in our extensive framework of credit and socio-economic statistics. This framework encompasses quarterly and monthly measures of household debt and borrowing, including details by loan product and lender, distributional statistics highlighting how debt is allocated across socio-economic groups by age, and some supplemental information on prevalence of non-bank lenders.

With these data, we can articulate the financial position of Canadian households, including their debt burden, asset holdings and net worth. We can also provide relevant indicators of financial vulnerabilities, such as leverage ratios and debt service ratios, which represent both stock-to-flow and flow-to-flow perspectives.

Canada’s quarterly national balance sheet represents the most comprehensive and official accounting of household debt. It shows that at the end of 2025, household debt had surpassed $3.2 trillion, with $1.77 in outstanding debt for every dollar of disposable income.

By comparison, seven years ago, at the end of 2019, Canadian households had less than $800 billion in outstanding debt, yet this represented a higher proportion of their disposable income at that time.

Also at the end of 2025, debt-servicing costs, the payments Canadian households are obligated to make in terms of interest and principal payments, represented roughly 15% of their income. By comparison, household expenditures on food and beverages represented 9.4% of disposable income.

While debt can be a burden, Canadian households hold significant assets in the form of real estate and financial assets. The value of their households' total assets was more than five times larger than their level of debt at the end of 2025.

In terms of composition and lender, nearly three-quarters of households' loan liabilities are in the form of mortgage debt, and nearly 90% of those are with Canadian charter banks and credit unions. Among non-mortgage debt, lines of credit, including home equity lines of credit, represent nearly half of outstanding balances, while credit card debt accounts for one-fifth of all non-mortgage borrowing from banks.

As the committee has heard from previous witnesses, these macroeconomic aggregates, critical to establishing accurate levels and lender relationships, do not tell the entire story of the types of households that may be experiencing greater financial hurdles. However, Statistics Canada expands the aggregate perspective with distributional information that represents the financial portion of households by characteristics such as age group, income and wealth quintiles, and home ownership status.

These data show that the income and wealth gap between the lowest two income quintiles and the highest, which had narrowed since 2020, has started to reverse course. These data highlight how, between 2022 and 2024, the youngest households eschewed the housing and mortgage market as affordability concerns and borrowing costs forced them to delay the prospect of home ownership. At the same time, older households—those aged 55 to 64 years—increased their average mortgage debt at a faster pace than younger households, which may indicate direct or indirect attempts to assist younger relatives with the purchase of a home.

Going forward, still-elevated interest rates and continued mortgage renewals and refinancing are likely to further challenge households, especially those more vulnerable to economic or financial shocks.

Statistics Canada remains committed to monitoring these trends closely in order to provide a clear and comprehensive picture of Canadians' financial resilience in the face of economic pressures.

We are here to answer further questions from committee members.

Thank you.

[The Vice-Chair (Jasraj Hallan), Conservative, Jasraj Singh Hallan]

Thank you, Ms. Withington.

This concludes the witnesses' testimony. I'll open it up for questioning.

For the first round of six minutes, I have Mr. Lefebvre.

[Éric Lefebvre, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Greetings to my colleagues and thanks to the witnesses for joining us today.

Commissioner Miller, I would like to discuss Canada’s position within the G7. Currently, we have the highest level of household debt among G7 countries. Canada’s debt-to-income ratio stands at 103%, compared to Italy, which has the lowest debt level at 36%.

If you could implement one measure to help Canadians, what would it be?

[Shereen Benzvy Miller]

Thank you for your question.

I'm not in the habit of imagining every possible invention. I find the tools we have right now to be very useful. Plus, there's bank oversight and tools to help people stay on top of their finances.

We have a monthly financial well-being monitor. We track things very closely to see how Canadians are doing and to see how we might help them with better tools and better supervision of the financial institutions. We have seen borrowing trends and percentages of income being spent on debt increasing, but we also see that measures are being taken to help to prevent indebtedness, reduce indebtedness and manage indebtedness.

You were asking me about my fantasy life. I would do more of those things. I would create more programs like our low-cost and no-cost account commitments, the NSF fee cap, setting up e-alerts and things that will help people, particularly vulnerable Canadians, manage their finances. Really, you want a resilient population that can make good decisions, given all the factors they're facing.

Something like the mortgage guideline, which we put in place in 2023, has really helped put banks in a position in which they have to reach out to consumers who might be at risk of overindebtedness to make sure that their products are appropriate for them, as the law requires, and that they are not renewing at a rate they cannot sustain.

[Éric Lefebvre, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Thank you.

We know that many people are currently having trouble paying their mortgages and meeting their financial obligations. Do you think the situation will get even worse over the next two years?

[Shereen Benzvy Miller]

I will now give the floor to Ms. Bombardier, because she is responsible for our data and research.

[Manon Bombardier, Deputy Commissioner, Financial Consumer Agency of Canada]

Thank you for your question.

To the member, as the commissioner mentioned, we have several tools that allow us to track what consumers are telling us and to follow up on it. We conduct numerous surveys every month and every five years.

We also work with a network of stakeholders in the financial system. We are not alone. There are, of course, our colleagues here at the table today, but there are also many organizations outside this room that carry out initiatives to help Canadians facing debt challenges and that track their progress.

As part of our National Financial Literacy Strategy, we have an action plan. We are currently evaluating the results of the 2021–2026 strategy, which is the most recent edition, but we are starting to plan for the next edition, which will be based on these measures.

[Éric Lefebvre, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

What are you forecasting for the next two years? Do you think it will continue to increase?

[Manon Bombardier]

If there is a significant impact on the ecosystem, we may have a better chance of improving the situation for Canadians, but this really requires an ecosystem-wide approach. That is what we are aiming for with the national financial literacy strategy. We are therefore working on this with our network of partners.

[Éric Lefebvre, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Thank you.

Ms. Lang, in Canada, the total number of insolvency cases, bankruptcies and consumer proposals increased by 8%. In February 2026, the number of bankruptcies rose by 6.1%.

From your perspective, I'd like to know how you see the next two years, given the inflation we've seen over the past few years.

[Elisabeth Lang]

There are complex and numerous reasons behind these bankruptcies. From an economic standpoint, I believe that if the war in Iran and the trade war continue, there is a possibility of further bankruptcies.

[Éric Lefebvre, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

According to the Canadian Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Professionals, the insolvency rate observed in 2009 was the second highest since the office of the superintendent of bankruptcy began tracking, as you put it, consumer proposals.

Unlike in 2009, these insolvency cases were due to the cost of living rather than high unemployment. In your opinion, is this a cause for concern?

[The Vice-Chair (Jasraj Hallan), Conservative, Jasraj Singh Hallan]

Give a short answer, please.

[Elisabeth Lang]

Not really. I think Canadians are struggling, but the system is there for them.

Right now, our insolvency rate, which I provided in the materials, has not actually increased significantly. During the COVID recession, we had a very deep drop—

[The Vice-Chair (Jasraj Hallan), Conservative, Jasraj Singh Hallan]

Thank you, Ms. Lang. That's the time.

[Elisabeth Lang]

I apologize.

[The Vice-Chair (Jasraj Hallan), Conservative, Jasraj Singh Hallan]

Next, we have Mr. Leitão for six minutes.

[Carlos Leitão, Liberal, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Good morning to our witnesses.

Ms. Lang, we could continue along those lines. You mentioned that it was mainly after the 2009 recession, or during the 2009 recession, that the worst insolvency problems occurred.

I therefore assume that the main factor behind a potential deterioration of the situation is rather a recession, with job losses and a loss of income. That would be the main factor rather than other factors, which are also important but perhaps less so in this context.

[Elisabeth Lang]

Yes.

As I said, there are several reasons why insolvency occurs. We often hear about job loss. Sometimes it's due to illness or divorce. It can be for all sorts of reasons. It's quite complex. If there's a recession, we would indeed expect an increase in the number of insolvencies.

[Carlos Leitão, Liberal, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

Great. Thank you very much.

I would now like to turn to Statistics Canada. Let's talk recession.

Ms. Withington, I don't want to put words in your mouth. You mentioned that total household debt stood at $3.2 trillion, which seems very high, of course. You conduct a lot of analysis, you have a lot of tools, and I also believe you calculate net household debt. I don't have those figures off the top of my head. You mentioned a total debt of $3.2 trillion, but can you tell us what the net debt of Canadian households is? Do you have that information with you?