Tyler Fransen lost his Saskatoon home this spring after he missed mortgage payments due to financial circumstances and life situations that sent him over the tipping point.
“I just felt a little defeated,” said Fransen, whose father recently died from cancer. “I was trying to do this by myself and I didn’t want to burden any of my family. We’ve got a lot going on.”
Fransen lost his job as a contractor during the COVID-19 pandemic. Then came inflation on materials, gas and groceries. Paying for his mortgage became more and more difficult.
“I, just like everybody else, am not perfect and so for me to share this, it’ll give somebody out there the idea that they’re not alone, because that’s what I felt for a while,” he said.
Fransen isn’t alone in his struggle. Many homeowners in Saskatchewan and across the country are falling behind on mortgage payments, according to the latest statistics.
Sask. has the highest rate among provinces of homeowners falling behind on their mortgage payments
According to Equifax Canada, Saskatchewan had the highest mortgage delinquency rate (0.37 per cent) in Q1 2025 out of all provinces and almost double the national average (0.19 per cent).
However, experts say Saskatchewan is in a better spot than it might appear.
Rebecca Oakes, vice-president of advanced analytics at Equifax, said fewer people are missing mortgage payments in Saskatchewan than five years ago.
“It’s not great news, but it’s an improving picture. Whereas areas like Ontario are still seeing significant increases,” Oakes said.
“I know for Ontario in particular, I think this is the highest level we’ve ever seen.”
Matt Fabian, director of financial services at TransUnion Canada, agreed.
“Saskatchewan economy continues to grow, it has the lowest unemployment rate in Canada,” Fabian said. “I think when we look across Canada, Southern Ontario and British Columbia are still facing severe affordability challenges and higher delinquency.”
Fabian said many people are facing payment shock that comes with renewing mortgages at rates that are much high than what was available during the pandemic. Inflation making everything else more expensive is a double-whammy.
“You might be renewing at a double or triple the rate that you’ve ever had,” Fabian said. “That has created this payment shock where we’ve seen average monthly mortgage payments go up anywhere from 10 per cent to double.”
Both experts said they’re watching closely as mortgage renewals continue, banks continue cutting rates, and tariffs from the U.S. remain a key factor in economic stability.
“These kinds of delinquency rates will start to stabilize as interest rates and inflation come down. What we’re really looking at is the impact of things like tariffs,” Fabian said.
“When you think about where tariffs will be imposed, we don’t think it’ll be a national increase. We think those regions that have industries that are targeted for tariffs might start to see unemployment rates tick up, which usually is a foreshadowing of some delinquency.”
For Fransen, the experience of losing a home he put his time, effort and money into has been painful, but he’s trying to look at the bright side. He said he can now focus more on being there for his mother and himself.
For now, the bank has allowed him to stay in the home until the foreclosure and legal processes are complete.
“This situation, it’s created movement in my life, and I’m grateful for that,” Fransen said.
“I felt I was a little stuck.”
