Canadian household debt hits record levels in Q1

As reported on CanadianBusiness.com, fresh Statistics Canada data shows the ratio of debt to personal disposable income rose to 152 per cent last quarter, up from 150.6 at the end of 2011.

The number will likely be of concern to Mark Carney, who heads the Bank of Canada, which warned again this week that the record level of household debt leaves Canadians vulnerable to an economic shock.

The first quarter numbers show that despite the increase in debt as a percentage of disposable income, borrowing actually slowed - by 0.9 per cent.

As well, household net worth rose to $185,800 from $182,900 the previous quarter, mostly due to gains in the value of stock investments and pension assets.

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