Canadians have been using their credit cards a lot more this year than they were before the pandemic.

A new Equifax Canada report says credit demand was high in the first quarter of the year while the mortgage market saw a significant slowdown.

It also says on average. consumers are spending 21.5 percent more each month on their credit cards compared with pre-pandemic levels.

Missed payments on non-mortgage debts also rose, with 175,000 more consumers missing payments on at least one product, up nearly 19 percent from a year earlier.

And the higher cost of living and the influx of new credit customers have driven credit card balances to rise by 14.5 per cent year-over-year.