Ai Financial

Credit card identity fraud is rising in Canada—and older Canadians are becoming a bigger target.

📈 Credit card application fraud: +8% YoY
🎯 Ages 56–65: a key target group
💳 Longer credit histories and higher credit limits can make stolen identities more valuable

One of the biggest risks is that victims may not notice a fraudulent account or credit inquiry until much later.

Regularly checking your credit report, using strong passwords, enabling multi-factor authentication, and being cautious with unexpected calls, texts and emails can help reduce the risk.

Read the full story:
https://aifinancial.ca/aif-news-bites-canada-credit-card-fraud-1001/

Credit Card Identity Fraud Rises 8% in Canada as Ages 56–65 Become a Key Target | AiF News Bites Credit card application fraud in Canada rose 8%, with Canadians aged 56 to 65 becoming a key target because of established credit histories and higher limits.

Young Canadians are facing a striking income reality.

After adjusting for inflation:

📉 Ages 15–24: real income is down 24% since 1976
📉 Ages 25–34: down about 7% over nearly 50 years
📉 Ages 15–24 have fallen another 16.5% since 2021
📍 Their real-income peak was back in 1977

Meanwhile, Canadians aged 45 and older continue to see income growth.

For younger generations, the challenge is even bigger because housing and everyday living costs have risen dramatically while income growth has stalled.

If salary alone is becoming harder to rely on, building financial assets earlier may become increasingly important.

Read the full story:
https://aifinancial.ca/aif-news-bites-canada-youth-income-0813/

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Canada’s debt pressure is continuing to rise.

In June 2026:

📄 13,254 insolvency filings
📈 Up 5.7% from May
📈 Up 11.5% year over year

And in Q2 alone, bankruptcy filings reached 9,520 — up 8.2% from a year earlier and 11.8% from Q1.

Current insolvency levels are now hovering near highs rarely seen since the Global Financial Crisis, as households continue to deal with mortgages, credit-card debt, auto loans and elevated living costs.

Read the full story:
https://aifinancial.ca/aif-news-bites-canada-insolvencies-rise-0813/

aifinancial.ca

What if your assets could work alongside your salary?

Daniel & Julia, a couple in their 40s, used two $100,000 investment loans to build a $200,000 segregated-fund portfolio.

3 years & 8 months later:

💰 $200,000 invested
📈 $367,539 market value
📊 $167,539 investment gains
💵 $47,750 loan interest paid
✅ $119,789 net profit after interest

For them, the biggest change wasn’t only the investment return. It was building a second source of long-term wealth growth beyond employment income.

Investment loans involve market, interest and leverage risk and are not suitable for everyone.

Read Daniel & Julia’s full story:
https://aifinancial.ca/daniel-and-julia-case-study-how-200000-became-a-new-path-to-growth-aif-clients/

Daniel & Julia's Case Study: How $200,000 Became a New Path to Growth | AiF Clients They had a home, a car, stable careers—and still felt uncertain about their future. In 2023, this Canadian couple decided to explore a different way to grow their wealth. By combining long-term investing, thoughtful financial planning, and time, they built a second path for their assets to work al...

Canada’s mortgage renewal wave is hitting household budgets hard.

🏠 82% of Canadians who renewed this year are facing higher borrowing costs
💰 45% now spend at least half of their household budget on mortgage payments
📈 Typical mortgage rates increased by 2–4.99 percentage points

Younger homeowners are under even more pressure:

• 90% of homeowners aged 18–34 faced higher renewal rates
• 56% now spend 50%–70% of their household budget on housing

For some families, that means $5–$7 out of every $10 in the budget is already committed to housing.

Read the full story:
https://aifinancial.ca/aif-news-bites-canada-mortgage-renewal-0811/

Canada Mortgage Renewal Squeeze: 45% Spend Half Their Budget on Housing | AiF News Bites A Rates.ca survey found 82% of Canadians who renewed their mortgages this year faced higher borrowing costs, with nearly half now spending at least half their household budget on mortgage payments.

$3.61 million in 2017.
$2.50 million in 2026.

A North York luxury home recently sold for $1.11 million less than its previous purchase price — a decline of about 31% over nine years.

And this is happening as the broader GTA housing market continues to adjust:

📉 York Region average home price: $1.15M
📉 Down 7.1% year over year
📉 Detached homes down 8.8%
📉 GTA average selling price: $1,003,956

Even over nearly a decade, real estate does not automatically guarantee appreciation.

Read the full story:
https://aifinancial.ca/aif-news-bites-york-region-home-prices-0811/

York Region Home Prices Fall 7.1% as North York Home Loses $1.11M | AiF News Bites York Region home prices fell 7.1% year over year in July 2026, while a North York luxury home sold for $1.11 million less than its 2017 price.

Canada is still building homes—but the type of housing being built has changed dramatically.

Over the past year:

🏢 130,000 rental housing starts
🏠 Fewer than 50,000 condo starts
📉 Only about 45% of new housing starts are now intended for ownership

Compared with 2019, total housing starts are actually up 43,000 units. But rental starts increased by 73,000, while ownership-oriented construction fell by 30,000.

Canada may be building more homes on paper, but increasingly those homes are being built to rent—not to own.

Read the full story:
https://aifinancial.ca/aif-news-bites-canada-rental-housing-0810/

Canada Housing Shift: Only 45% of New Homes Built for Ownership | AiF News Bites Canada is building more homes, but only about 45% of new housing starts are now intended for ownership as developers increasingly shift toward rentals.

Canada’s job market is sending warning signs at both ends of the career ladder.

A 25-year-old IT graduate with 2 years of federal government experience says he can’t even land a retail job.

Meanwhile, another worker who previously earned about $300,000 a year is now finding comparable roles paying only $100,000–$130,000 — a potential pay cut of more than 50%.

AI, outsourcing and a more employer-driven labour market are changing what degrees, experience and even high salaries are worth.

What does this mean for Canadian workers — and how should people prepare financially?

Read the full story:
https://aifinancial.ca/aif-news-bites-canada-job-market-shifts-0807/

Canada Job Market Shifts: Graduates Struggle as High Salaries Disappear | AiF News Bites Canada’s job market is changing as young graduates struggle to find work and experienced tech workers face major salary cuts, while AI and outsourcing reshape employment.

Canada plans to commit $25 billion over three years to the proposed Canada Strong Fund, targeting energy, critical minerals, infrastructure, transportation, communications, and advanced manufacturing.

The concept may sound attractive, especially with the possibility of retail participation and principal protection. However, at least 10 important details remain unclear—including the fund’s holdings, management team, fees, redemption rules, risk allocation, and the conditions attached to any guarantee.

The fund has not yet been established, has no historical performance, and may need to balance investor returns with broader government policy goals.

Ai Financial’s current view is clear: we are not optimistic about the Canada Strong Fund and do not recommend it for ordinary investors at this stage.

Read the full analysis:
https://aifinancial.ca/aif-talk-canada-strong-fund-2026/

aifinancial.ca

Canada is still building homes—but increasingly, those homes are being built for renters rather than buyers.

From January to April 2026, 58.2% of new housing starts were intended for rental use. Meanwhile, construction of condos and other ownership-focused homes has fallen near recession-era lows.

Canada may be moving from “build to sell” toward “build to rent.” What could this mean for families hoping to become homeowners?

Read the full article:
https://aifinancial.ca/aif-news-bites-canada-nation-of-rentals-housing-construction-0804/

A First in Canadian Housing: BMO Warns Canada Is Moving Toward a “Nation of Rentals” | AiF News Bites Canada’s housing construction boom is cooling, but the bigger change is structural: more new homes are being built for renters, not for owner-occupiers. BMO says Canada is seeing a housing-market shift it has never seen before.