Canadian households took on $9.1B in new mortgage debt in April

Mortgage debt growth accelerated in April as Canadian households added $9.1 billion in new borrowing, even as non-mortgage credit slowed to its weakest pace in months.

Real estate secured debt, which includes both mortgages and home equity lines of credit (HELOCs), grew by $9.9 billion in April, driven almost entirely by the increase in mortgage balances.

Year-over-year growth in mortgage credit also continued to trend higher, reaching 4.7% in April, its fastest pace in two years.

That compares to just 3.4% growth at the same time last year and reflects a steady rebound from the post-pandemic slowdown.

The increase in mortgage debt was one of the strongest for an April in recent history. At $8.0 billion, the monthly increase was higher than in April 2023 ($6.0B) and April 2024 ($5.6B), making it the largest April gain since 2022.

Monthly change in household mortgage balances

Month-over-month change in household mortgage loans — *Source: StatCan (data is adjusted for seasonality)*

Total household credit liabilities increased by 0.3% in April (+$10.1 billion) to reach $3.08 trillion, slightly below the 0.4% growth recorded in March.

Non-mortgage borrowing was relatively flat in April, with total debt in that category rising just 0.1%, compared to a 0.4% gain in March. On an annual basis, non-mortgage credit growth eased to 3.9%, down from 4.4% in March.

Credit card debt edged down by 0.1%, the first drop since November 2024, while other personal loans saw modest gains.

Meanwhile, borrowing by private non-financial corporations fell sharply, with total credit liabilities down 0.9% (-$20.6 billion). This was due largely to a $15.5-billion drop in debt security liabilities, driven by exchange rate effects.

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