Near a quarter of Canadians are debt-free, while others owe more twenty-four per cent of Canadians say they eliminated their non-mortgage debt in 2013, compared with 26 per cent in 2012 and 22 per cent in 2011, according a Royal Bank of Canada poll on debt. Among Canadians who still have personal debt, the average load has jumped to $15,920, a $2,779 increase from a year ago. From 2011 to 2012, the average overall debt edged just $83 higher.