Lastly, carrying all of this debt is preventing Canadians from saving for retirement.  And this will only get worse as interest rates climb.  Most Canadians do not have defined pensions.  At most some Canadians have their employer willing to match their contributions, but that isn't going so well as these employees don't have the ability to consistently save in order for a meaningful match to occur because they are spending so much on their mortgages.  

I know one person who is an owner and who plans to fund his retirement by selling his home in 10 years and move abroad where housing is way cheaper.  Of all the other home owners I know maybe 10%  are planning to sell and are willing to move out of the city, but are all concerned that they'll be away from their kids and grandkids.  And are we to suppose that the rest of the owners are going to sell their homes and manage to live off the $500,000 difference they make in the downsize but stay in the city?