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The data behind how Canada borrows

Aggregated insight from loan applications submitted on our platform: what Canadians ask for, where, and at what scale. Measured at the point of application, before any lender decides.

Demand intensity by province, per-capita index
Demand intensity by province, per-capita index, national base 100, july to september 2026
2M+
Canadians served since 2016
50+
Vetted lending partners
Quarterly
Publication cadence
Aggregate
No individual or lender-level data

Current edition

The Canadian Lending Demand Index, July to September 2026

Small requests hold at two thirds, Ontario gains and the Prairies cool

Read the July to September 2026 edition

Next release

Q4 2026 Edition

Publishes Tuesday 5 January 2027. The first quarterly edition tests whether the shift to smaller, more frequent borrowing holds.

Data stories

Findings from our own application data. Each one is the home of the figures it reports.

97% within 24 hours
For applications made through Smarter Loans from 6 August to 19 September 2026, 97% of approvals by lenders in our network came within 24 hours. Funding depends on the size of the loan.

How fast are personal loans approved and funded in Canada?

1 in 4
One in four Smarter Loans applicants apply again within a year, about 40 days later. Later applications are approved about half as often.

Should You Reapply After a Loan Decline?

1 in 7
Fair credit is the largest self-reported band in almost every province, across more than 40,000 Smarter Loans personal loan applications in the year to July 2026. Saskatchewan is the only exception, where low credit leads, and good or great stays under one in seven everywhere.

Credit Bands Across Canada: Who Applies With What Credit

14 September 2026, reviewed by Vlad Sherbatov
$92,806
Canadian businesses asked for an average of $92,806 across 823 Smarter Loans business loan applications in the year to July 2026. Expansion carried the largest requests at $128,450 and Quebec the highest provincial average at $109,849.

How Canadian Businesses Borrow: Purpose and Province

11 September 2026, reviewed by Rafael Rositsan
May, 12.4%
Tuesday is the busiest day to apply for a loan at 18.3 percent, across more than 79,000 Smarter Loans applications in the year to July 2026. May is the busiest month at double September, and about a quarter of applications arrive at weekends.

When Canadians Apply for Loans

9 September 2026, reviewed by Vlad Sherbatov
$13,410
Applicants reporting unsecured debt on a Smarter Loans personal loan application carried an average of $13,410 in the year to July 2026. Those applying to consolidate asked for $6,659, about half of what they owe.

What Canadians Owe When They Decide to Consolidate

4 September 2026, reviewed by Vlad Sherbatov
71%
71 percent of more than 79,000 Smarter Loans personal loan applications in the year to July 2026 asked for $1,500 or less. The average request in that range was $552, and it barely moves across income types or provinces.

What Canadians Ask For When They Borrow Small

30 August 2026, reviewed by Rafael Rositsan
$6,659
Canadians applying to consolidate debt asked for an average of $6,659 in the year to July 2026, across more than 8,000 Smarter Loans applications. Newfoundland and Labrador led every province at $7,948 and New Brunswick sat lowest at $6,133.

What Canadians Borrow to Consolidate, by Province

28 August 2026, reviewed by Vlad Sherbatov

Research and analysis

Third-party studies read against what our applications show.

44% within $200 of missing bills
MNP's October 2026 Consumer Debt Index finds 55% of working Canadians worried about their job prospects and nearly half within $200 of their monthly limit. We put those findings beside a year of Smarter Loans application data.

MNP's Consumer Debt Index, October 2026: What It Found and What We See

About half
Fintel Connect tested 2,400 AI answers to see which financial brands get named and why. What it means for Canadian lenders serving fair credit, and what to change on your own pages.

AI Search and Canadian Lenders: What Fintel Connect's 2026 Study Shows

10 October 2026, reviewed by Rafael Rositsan
1 in 4
TransUnion's Q2 2026 Consumer Pulse found a quarter of Canadians plan to apply for credit and one in four expects to miss a bill. Across more than 79,000 Smarter Loans applications, the people who actually apply ask small: 71 percent want $1,500 or less.

TransUnion's Q2 2026 Consumer Pulse: What It Says, and What We See

7 September 2026, reviewed by Rafael Rositsan

Borrowing by province

One report per province, publishing through October 2026, each feeding its provincial lender page.

$7,948
Newfoundland and Labrador consolidates more than any other province. Across 1,358 Smarter Loans applications in the year to July 2026, applicants requested $2,577 on average, and the average consolidation request was $7,948, the largest in Canada.

Borrowing in Newfoundland and Labrador: What Applicants Ask For

5 October 2026, reviewed by Rafael Rositsan
$2,227
Nova Scotia borrows small and follows the Atlantic pattern. Across 2,682 Smarter Loans applications in the year to July 2026, Nova Scotians requested $2,227 on average, three in four asked for $1,500 or less, and fair credit led low by eight points.

Borrowing in Nova Scotia: What Applicants Ask For

2 October 2026, reviewed by Vlad Sherbatov
$2,378
New Brunswick borrows a little below the national average and consolidates less than any other province. Across 2,484 Smarter Loans applications in the year to July 2026, applicants requested $2,378 on average, the average consolidation request was $6,133, and fair and low credit were in a dead heat.

Borrowing in New Brunswick: What Applicants Ask For

30 September 2026, reviewed by Rafael Rositsan
$2,099
Saskatchewan borrows the least of any province day to day and among the most when consolidating. Across 2,912 Smarter Loans applications in the year to July 2026, applicants requested $2,099 on average, 76 percent asked for $1,500 or less, and the average consolidation request was $7,123.

Borrowing in Saskatchewan: What Applicants Ask For

28 September 2026, reviewed by Vlad Sherbatov
$2,162
Manitoba borrows small. Across 3,897 Smarter Loans applications in the year to July 2026, Manitobans requested $2,162 on average, three in four asked for $1,500 or less, and the province has the largest share of applicants with no credit history in Canada.

Borrowing in Manitoba: What Applicants Ask For

25 September 2026, reviewed by Rafael Rositsan
$2,730
Quebec borrows a little bigger than the country and looks different on credit. Across 5,221 Smarter Loans applications in the year to July 2026, Quebecers requested $2,730 on average, fair and low credit were nearly tied, and the province has no conventional payday lending.

Borrowing in Quebec: What Applicants Ask For

23 September 2026, reviewed by Vlad Sherbatov
$2,470
British Columbia borrows slightly smaller than the country. Across 9,687 Smarter Loans applications in the year to July 2026, British Columbians requested $2,470 on average against $2,604 nationally, and 72 percent asked for $1,500 or less.

Borrowing in British Columbia: What Applicants Ask For

21 September 2026, reviewed by Rafael Rositsan
$2,503
Alberta sits close to the national pattern for personal borrowing and above it for business. Across 15,218 Smarter Loans applications in the year to July 2026, Albertans requested $2,503 on average, and Alberta businesses $98,218 against $92,806 nationally.

Borrowing in Alberta: What Applicants Ask For

18 September 2026, reviewed by Vlad Sherbatov
$2,828
Ontario borrows slightly bigger than the country. Across 33,943 Smarter Loans applications in the year to July 2026, Ontarians requested $2,828 on average against $2,604 nationally, and Ontario is one of only two provinces where every credit band clears the reporting floor.

Borrowing in Ontario: What Applicants Ask For

16 September 2026, reviewed by Rafael Rositsan

How this data is produced

Figures come from loan applications submitted through Smarter Loans over a stated period, most often the twelve months to the end of the latest quarter. Amounts are what applicants requested, not what was funded. Credit bands are self-reported at application.

  • No figure is published from fewer than 100 applications; smaller cells are marked as not available rather than estimated.
  • Averages are used throughout, and every figure names its period in the same sentence.
  • Third-party studies are cited to their own published pages, with sample and fieldwork dates stated.
  • Every report is read and signed off by a named reviewer before it publishes.

Journalists and researchers may quote any figure with attribution to Smarter Loans and a link to the report it comes from. The full rules live on the methodology page; every published edition is in the archive.

New reports by email

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