What is it?
The household debt service ratio (가계 부채 상환 비율) shows, as a percentage, how much of the money households can spend goes to interest on their debts.
The figure in Statistics Canada’s provincial economic accounts is “interest only.” It adds up interest on mortgages and on other debt (car loans, credit cards, lines of credit and so on) and divides it by disposable income. Money used to repay principal is not included.
Disposable income is income minus payments such as income tax, plus money received from governments: the money households can actually spend.
How is it different from the GDS and TDS used by lenders?
| Statistics Canada household debt service ratio | Lender GDS and TDS | |
|---|---|---|
| Whose number | Average for all households in a province or Canada | One household applying for a loan |
| Income used | Disposable income (after taxes and similar payments) | Gross income (before tax) |
| Costs added | Interest on debt only | Mortgage principal and interest, property tax, heat and more (TDS adds other debts) |
| Used for | Economic statistics, comparing regions | Mortgage approval (insured mortgages: GDS up to 39%, TDS up to 44%) |
The names are similar, but the math is different, so the numbers cannot be compared directly. Your own borrowing limit is worked out with GDS and TDS.
Example: Ontario and Canada (released November 5, 2026)
- For Canada as a whole, it was 8.65% in 2025.
- Ontario (10.4%) and British Columbia (9.7%) were the highest. Statistics Canada said households in these provinces held more average debt, especially for housing.
- These two provinces also had the largest drops in the ratio in 2025. The Bank of Canada lowered its policy rate from June 2024 through October 2025, and interest paid on mortgages and other debt fell in every province and territory.
- In the Statistics Canada table released the same day (36-10-0226-01), Ontario was 7.01% in 2021, 10.96% in 2024 and 10.35% in 2025. The 2024 figure was the highest since 1991 (11.39%).
What it means for buyers
- On average, Ontario households paid about $10 of every $100 of disposable income in interest in 2025. That is heavier than the Canadian average; Statistics Canada said these households hold more average debt, especially for housing.
- When rates rise this ratio goes up, and when rates fall it goes down. The effect of the October 28, 2026 policy rate increase is not in the 2025 figures.
- Your situation is not the average. At pre-approval, work out your monthly payment at the stress-test rate, and check the full amount you will pay each month, principal as well as interest.
What the law and official sources say
Quotes are copied word for word. The "In plain words" lines are our explanation, not an official translation.
the interest-only debt service ratio, which measures the interest paid on debt as a share of household disposable income, reached 9.1% in 2023. This was the highest level since 1995.In plain wordsThe interest-only debt service ratio measures interest paid on debt as a share of household disposable income. It reached 9.1% in 2023, the highest since 1995 (Canada as a whole, as first published).
Source: www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/241107/dq241107a-eng.htm · checked Nov 5, 2026
Households in Ontario (10.4%) and British Columbia (9.7%) had the highest debt service ratios in the country in 2025, as they held more average debt, especially for housing.In plain wordsIn 2025, households in Ontario (10.4%) and British Columbia (9.7%) had the highest ratios in Canada, because on average they held more debt, especially for housing.
Source: www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/261105/dq261105a-eng.htm · checked Nov 5, 2026
Common questions
If Ontario is 10.4%, can I only borrow up to 10.4%?
No. This is an average statistic for the whole province. Your lender sets your limit by working out GDS and TDS from your own gross income.
Why is principal left out?
This figure in the provincial economic accounts counts interest only. What households actually pay each month, including principal, is larger.
Why is the same year a little different in different releases?
Statistics Canada revises past numbers with data that arrives later. For example, Ontario’s 2024 figure was 10.9% in the November 2025 release and 10.96% in the table released in November 2026.
Guides that use this term
Sources checked
- Statistics Canada, The Daily — Provincial and territorial economic accounts, 2025 (November 5, 2026) · checked Nov 5, 2026
- Statistics Canada, Table 36-10-0226-01, Household sector, selected indicators, provincial and territorial · checked Nov 5, 2026
- Statistics Canada, The Daily — Provincial and territorial economic accounts, 2024 (November 6, 2025) · checked Nov 5, 2026
- Statistics Canada, The Daily — Provincial and territorial economic accounts, 2023 (November 7, 2024) · checked Nov 5, 2026