According to a new report, Albertans are leading the country in debt loads, and the delinqency rates have jumped.
The report, published by Equifax, shows that the average Albertan is carrying more than $27,000 worth of debt, excluding mortgages.
That figure is $600 above the national average.
Delinqency rates, meanwhile, have jumped 25 percent in the province, but when you look at Calgary alone, the city has the highest rate of any other Canadian city.
Calgarians carry more than $28,000 in credit debt, and has grown by 17 percent over last year.
Experts say the jump can be attributed to many people, who were already overextended, have now lost their jobs or have been forced to take paycuts.
"Those numbers are starting to increase and I think we're starting to see severance packages run out, or investments and savings run out," says Donna Carson, licenced trustee with MNP Debt. "So now how do we deal with it?"
She says that the main way to get through the tough times is to push ahead with a lifestyle change and look for help whereever they can.
Low interest rates have made it easier for Canadians to borrow more and keep up with their debts, although household debt has been identified as a key risk to the Canadian economy.
Equifax said Thursday that total reported consumer debt stood at $1.621 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2015, up from $1.529 trillion in the final quarter of 2014, as auto and instalment loans grew.
The majority of debt is in the form of mortgage debt, which amounted to $1.075 trillion in the fourth quarter.
(With files from the Canadian Press)
