(Ottawa) The amount Canadians owe relative to what they earn fell in the second quarter as growth in disposable income far outpaced debt growth while demand for mortgages fell, Statistics Canada said Wednesday .

Household credit market debt as a proportion of household disposable income, on a seasonally adjusted basis, fell to 180.5% in the second quarter, from 184.2% in the first quarter of the year, the federal agency said.

In other words, there was $1.81 of credit market debt for every dollar of household disposable income in the second quarter, compared to $1.84 in the first three months of 2023.

Meanwhile, the household debt service ratio, measured as total mandatory principal and interest payments on credit market debt as a proportion of household disposable income, was 14.79% in the most recent quarter , down from 14.90% in the first quarter, which was its highest level since 2019.

Seasonally adjusted borrowing in the household credit market fell to 17.1 billion in the second quarter, from 20.4 billion in the first quarter, as demand for mortgages fell to its lowest level since 2005.

The seasonally adjusted total value of household debt in the credit market in the second quarter amounted to 2861 billion, up 0.6% from the first quarter. This sum included 2126 billion in mortgage debt.