Consumer delinquency rates soared 25 per cent in Alberta last year amid slumping oil prices, even as Canadians overall are still managing to handle their debts.

The 90-day delinquency rate on credit cards and loans was up 25.1 per cent from a year earlier in the fourth quarter of last year in Alberta, and rose 14 per cent in Saskatchewan, according to a new analysis by credit rating agency Equifax Inc. (The figures exclude mortgage debt.)

Both provinces have been hard hit by the slump in resource prices. Consumers in the two provinces also have the highest average debts of all Canadians, with Albertans carrying an average of $27,576 in credit card debt and other non-mortgage loans in the fourth quarter, compared to a Canada-wide average of $21,458. In Saskatchewan, the average consumer credit balance stood at $23,941.

Among major cities, delinquency rates rose 21.3 per cent in Edmonton, and 20.5 per cent in St. John’s. In Calgary, where consumers carry an average of more than $28,400 in debt, the most of any city, delinquency rates climbed 17 per cent. By contrast, delinquencies fell 7 per cent in both Toronto and Vancouver.

Nationally, the delinquency rate was unchanged in the fourth quarter from a year earlier at 1.09 per cent of outstanding debt.

Despite a rise in the number of consumers who are struggling to pay back their debts in energy sensitive regions, delinquency rates in those provinces are still relatively low, said Regina Malina, senior director of decision insights at Equifax Canada. “Most people are still finding a way to pay back what they owe."

Total outstanding consumer debt rose 6 per cent from a year earlier to $1.621 trillion, Equifax said, led by a 7.5 per cent surge in instalment loans and a 5.7 per cent jump in auto loans.

Delinquency rates rose the most for Canadians under the age of 26, while overall consumer debt balances increased the most among Canadians aged 65 and older.