By MoneySense Staff on November 15, 2013

Western Canada has more debt, and that’s good

By MoneySense Staff on November 15, 2013

Debt levels are linked to economic performance.

This article is 11 years old. Some details may be outdated.

Higher average consumer debt levels in the West can be explained by greater optimism that encourages more spending. “Households with relatively high incomes, couples with children, and people living in growing regions tend to cause overall debt levels to rise,” says Roger Sauvé, a demographer at People Patterns Consulting. “All these factors are clearly more evident in most of the West.” Economic performance in central Canada, Sauvé adds, has been flatter. westerndebt