Debt levels a worry for Prairie residents

Nearly half of Manitobans have debt on their mind.

New data compiled by Ipsos on behalf of MNP Ltd. shows that 46 per cent of Manitoba and Saskatchewan residents say they are concerned about their current level of debt, a figure that went up six points between 2020 and 2025. More than two in five (44 per cent) regret the amount of debt they have taken on over their lifetime.

MNP, the largest insolvency practice in Canada, released the data Monday as it promotes Debt Literacy Month throughout March.

A debt literacy gap persists, the organization said in a news release. Borrowing has become more common amid cost-of-living pressures, and many Manitoba and Saskatchewan residents are unclear on how interest works in practice or how rate changes affect their own financial position.

One-quarter (26 per cent) say they do not have a solid understanding of how interest rate increases impact their financial situation, the highest proportion among all provinces.

MNP is focusing its Debt Literacy Month efforts on “debt blind spots” to help Manitobans better understand where their financial vulnerabilities lie, how quickly circumstances can change and why planning for unexpected events matters.

Compared with five years ago, Manitoba and Saskatchewan residents generally report feeling less equipped to handle unexpected life events. Financial shocks such as job loss, death of an immediate family member and an illness preventing work for at least three months showed the greatest vulnerability.

“(Unexpected life events) are basically the leading causes of financial difficulty,” Brad Milne, a licensed insolvency trustee at MNP’s Brandon office, told the Free Press.

“As a rule, it’s not financial mismanagement, but rather, it’s things that you don’t expect, whether it’s unexpected job loss, or marital breakup where your household income goes down from two to one — things of that nature.”

MNP’s tips for closing debt blind spots include using an amortization calculator to determine how much interest you will pay over time and the true cost of your debt; stop relying on minimum payments as a strategy; and review your repayment timelines, interest rate type and exposure.

“One thing that I recommend people do is sit down and create a budget, just so that you visualize where you’re spending your money,” Milne said, adding that there are good resources online for budgeting and setting financial goals, including some from the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, Canada’s regulator of bankruptcy and insolvency.

People can prepare for financial disruptions by creating an emergency fund. Some recommend saving three or six months of one’s net pay, which can be overwhelming, Milne said, but even starting with one month of savings is a good start.

Bruce Caplan is the president of Caplan Debt Solutions, a boutique insolvency firm he opened in Winnipeg in early 2020 after spending more than 25 years as a partner in a national insolvency firm.

Caplan said that since 2023, he’s noticed an uptick in the number of people walking through his doors. Cost-of-living pressures are one of the common reasons they seek help, he said.

“A lot of people out there are struggling,” Caplan said.

Both Milne and Caplan suggest people seek guidance from a professional so that they can understand what their options are when tackling debt.

“Talk to a trustee,” Caplan said. “It’s free and it never hurts to just get information. If they don’t want to do anything, that’s fine, but they should take advantage of accessing the information.”

Ipsos compiled its data on behalf of MNP between Nov. 28, 2025, and Dec. 1, 2025. A sample of 2,001 Canadians aged 18 years old and older was interviewed.

aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca