While state-controlled statistics claim the economy is fine, the reality is that something is going seriously wrong.
The growing divergence between the government-released economic stats and the economic reality on the ground is now far too big to ignore.
If we listen to the government, they claim that our unemployment rate is at a record low, wages are growing, and things are just fine.
But we know that’s not the case.
In reality, something is seriously broken in Canada’s economy.
A big source of that breakage can be seen in our immense consumer debt levels. And it’s getting worse.
According to Equifax, the delinquency rate on consumer debt has risen 3.5%, now reaching to 1.12 in Quarter 1 of 2019. Those who built Canada are a struggling most, as the delinquency rate for seniors is up 9.4%.
Consumer debt has also risen to an average of $71,300 in Q1, up 2.6% in a year.
Here’s what Equifax VP of Data & Analytics Bill Johnston said in a press release:
“Consumers were opening fewer new credit products in early 2019, but they certainly weren’t curtailing the use of their existing credit. Loans are taking longer to pay down and credit card use is on the rise. The headline numbers for non-mortgage debt had been driven by population growth for the past 18 months, but it was increased usage that drove the rise in credit during the first quarter of this year.”
Added Johnston, “We continue to see signs of increasing strain for Canadian borrowers. The utilization of credit cards has been trending higher and gaining momentum. With more consumers growing their average debt, we expect to see further increases in delinquencies in the coming months.”
If Canada’s economy was doing well, then why are more and more people unable to pay their debts? Why is debt still on the rise?
There is obviously something going seriously wrong, when the government keeps telling us how ‘awesome’ things are when people are falling further and further behind. And to see Canada’s senior struggling so much is disgraceful. The people who built our country deserve far better. Instead though, the Trudeau government gives our money away to foreign countries.
Canada’s economy is broken, and no amount of manipulated government stats can change that reality.
Spencer Fernando
