A new report from Canada Mortgage Housing Corp. (CMCH) highlights that people living in Canada’s two largest cities may be more vulnerable to interest rate increases due to personal debt levels, which continue to soar in both Toronto and Vancouver. (Financial Post)

Talking point: The agency said the debt-to-income ratio climbed to 242 per cent in Vancouver in the second quarter, ending June 30, and is also high in Toronto at 208 per cent—the highest it’s been in both cities for any second quarter since 2015. The national average is 171 per cent. The biggest contributor to soaring personal debt is mortgage debt, amounting to two-thirds of all household debt in Canada. The outcome of such high debts could be households defaulting on their loans, and banks doling out less loans as a result, CMCH said.