174 – Seeds of a Debt Crisis: 2017 Debt Statistics and 2018 Predictions

What will happen in 2018 that could water the seeds of a financial crisis? Ted Michalos and Doug Hoyes believe there are three big stories to watch in 2018:

1. Minimum wage going up in Ontario from $11.60 to $14.00, effective January 1st. This means any employer that is already marginal or has very tight margins is probably going to employ fewer people.
2. Debt. According to the Canadian Payroll Association's September 2017 survey, 49% of Ontarians are living paycheque to paycheque and 43% of them save less than 5% of their earnings. Canadians are also the most indebted in the world by at least one measure, as household debt is more than our GDP.
3. Real estate value and mortgage interest rates. The Bank of Canada predicts that 47% of Canadian real estate mortgages will renew in 2018 and a lot of people are going to be facing an increase because rates are higher than they were a year ago.

For more insight and detailed breakdown of our predictions for 2018, tune into the podcast.