While nationwide numbers grew slowly, B.C. had the highest average consumer debt – excluding mortgages – in the nation at $37,433 in 2012's first quarter, according to TransUnion Canada's quarterly analysis of Canadian credit trends.
In this province, the average consumer's debt rose $127 or 0.4% from the previous quarter.
Across the country, debt rose $69 to $26,029 during Q1 2012.
Year-over-year, B.C. consumers' average debt rose 2.1%, while the national average was 1.66%.
All provinces experienced increases during the quarter except Alberta and Manitoba.
On a year-over-year basis, only Alberta posted a lower annual growth rate in Q1 2012 compared with Q1 2011.
Alberta has the second highest consumer debt ($33,515) in the country, followed by Ontario ($25,235) and Quebec ($18,475).
