TORONTO — As the recession causes the financial squeeze to get tighter, a credit monitoring company says Canadians are falling behind on their credit payments at "an ever-increasing rate."

Equifax Canada says the average national delinquency rate at the end of June rose to 1.56 per cent -- a jump of 24 per cent over the same time last year.

Equifax defines a delinquent bill as one that's at least 90 days overdue.

The company says the province with the highest delinquency rate is Nova Scotia at 2.09 per cent, while Saskatchewan has the lowest rate at 1.24 per cent.

It says rates of overdue bills are increasing fastest in Alberta and British Columbia at 32 per cent and 30 per cent respectively.

Equifax says among major Canadian cities, Toronto has the highest delinquency rate of 2.03 per cent.