New Brunswick sends about one in thirty personal loan applications Smarter Loans receives. This report covers the year to July 2026, drawn from 2,484 New Brunswick applications, against the national figures over the same period. Lenders serving the province are on the New Brunswick personal loans page; this is the data behind it.
What New Brunswickers ask for
Across Smarter Loans personal loan applications from August 2025 to July 2026, New Brunswick against the national figure:
- Average request: $2,378. Against $2,604 nationally.
- Applications for $1,500 or less: 73 percent. Against 71 percent nationally.
- Consolidation request: $6,133. Against $6,659 nationally.
View as table
| New Brunswick | $2,378 |
| Canada | $2,604 |
Source: Smarter Loans personal loan applications, August 2025 to July 2026.
New Brunswick sits between Ontario and the prairies on everyday borrowing and below every province on consolidation.
The smallest consolidation requests in Canada
Across Smarter Loans personal loan applications from New Brunswick from August 2025 to July 2026, the average debt consolidation request was $6,133, the lowest of the nine provinces with a reportable consolidation figure and well under the national average of $6,659 over the same window. Where Saskatchewan borrows small and consolidates large, New Brunswick borrows small and consolidates small: the balances being combined are themselves modest.
Fair and low credit in a dead heat
Across the 1,266 Smarter Loans personal loan applications from New Brunswick that recorded a credit band from August 2025 to July 2026:
- Low: 40.7 percent.
- Fair: 40.3 percent.
- No credit history or unsure: 10.7 percent.
- Good and great: below the reporting floor.
That leaves those three bands as effectively the whole distribution. New Brunswick shares that with Nova Scotia and no other province. It is a near tie rather than a lead: Saskatchewan is the only province where low credit clearly leads, and New Brunswick is the one where it just edges ahead.
The rules that apply in New Brunswick
Payday lending in New Brunswick is capped at $14 per $100 borrowed under the federal rule in force since January 2025, per the Canada Gazette, and lenders must be licensed by the Financial and Consumer Services Commission. New Brunswick applies the standard six-year bankruptcy retention; it is not among the four provinces where TransUnion holds a bankruptcy for seven, according to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada.
What this means if you are borrowing in New Brunswick
If your credit is fair or low, you are with four in five New Brunswick applicants, and the lenders on the New Brunswick personal loans page underwrite both bands daily. The small consolidation figure means a modest instalment loan usually covers the whole balance; our guide to debt consolidation loans compared covers how much to borrow, and what credit score you need for a personal loan covers what the two bands get.
Frequently asked questions
How much do people in New Brunswick borrow with a personal loan?
An average of $2,378 across 2,484 Smarter Loans personal loan applications from New Brunswick from August 2025 to July 2026, below the national average of $2,604.
What credit score do most New Brunswick loan applicants have?
Fair and low are in a dead heat at 40.3 and 40.7 percent, with one in ten reporting no credit history. Good and great fell below the reporting floor.
How much do people in New Brunswick borrow to consolidate debt?
An average of $6,133 across Smarter Loans applications from August 2025 to July 2026, the lowest of the nine provinces with a reportable consolidation figure, against $6,659 nationally.
What is the payday loan limit in New Brunswick?
$14 per $100 borrowed under the federal cap in force since January 2025, per the Canada Gazette. Lenders must be licensed by the Financial and Consumer Services Commission.
About this data
Figures are drawn from Smarter Loans personal loan applications from New Brunswick between August 1, 2025 and July 31, 2026, 2,484 in total, of which 1,266 recorded a credit band. National comparators use all provinces over the same window. Amounts are requested at application, not funded; credit band is self-reported. Averages are used throughout. More of our data is at Smarter Loans Research. Smarter Loans has connected more than 2 million Canadians with financing since 2016.
Written by:
The Smarter Loans Editorial Team produces in-depth, original content to help Canadians navigate borrowing, credit, and personal finance with confidence.
