They've been going into debt in order to buy housing, not on other forms of consumer spending or 'living beyond their means'.
Who sells them housing? Other Canadians.
Why do they go into so much debt? Because the nature of housing is that rising prices will squeeze out every last cent of saved money from the pockets of people trying to buy their first house.
It boggles my mind that the average house in Vancouver or Toronto costs ~20 years of average wages (Assuming you don't eat, sleep under a bridge, and don't pay any taxes.)
20 years worth of labour sure as hell did not go into building it. It's all land speculation.
Who sells them housing? Other Canadians.
Why do they go into so much debt? Because the nature of housing is that rising prices will squeeze out every last cent of saved money from the pockets of people trying to buy their first house.
It boggles my mind that the average house in Vancouver or Toronto costs ~20 years of average wages (Assuming you don't eat, sleep under a bridge, and don't pay any taxes.)
20 years worth of labour sure as hell did not go into building it. It's all land speculation.