Help with debt
For anyone who owes more than they can pay: credit cards, bills, loans or taxes.
Free, non-profit credit counselling: a counsellor looks at what you owe and helps you make a plan. Nothing here is a loan.
We found 2. Places people say worked move up.
Credit Canada (non-profit credit counselling)
Who qualifies:
- Anyone in Canada with debt problems
- Any income, immigration or job status
What you need to apply:
- A list of your debts and who you owe
- Your income and monthly costs
Canada's first non-profit credit counselling agency, with an office in North York. One-on-one credit counselling is free and confidential. If you choose its Debt Consolidation Program, a counsellor asks your creditors to drop or cut the interest on your unsecured debts and rolls them into one monthly payment. It is not a loan. There is a one-time $50 fee, added to your first payment, and a small monthly fee.
For: Anyone in Canada struggling with debt, whatever their income, immigration or job status.
Canada-wide · checked 5 October 2026 · everything we know
Credit Counselling Society (free non-profit credit counselling, Toronto office)
Who qualifies:
- Anyone in Ontario with debt problems
- Any income level
What you need to apply:
- A list of your debts and who you owe
- Your income and monthly costs
A registered non-profit that gives free, confidential credit counselling. A counsellor looks at your debts with you and explains your options. If you choose its Debt Management Program, your unsecured debts are rolled into one monthly payment and creditors cut or drop the interest. It is not a loan. Fees apply only if you join the program, and the Society says it waives them for people who truly cannot afford them.
For: Anyone in Ontario who is struggling with debt.
Toronto · checked 5 October 2026 · everything we know
Not on this list? Call 2-1-1 or text 2-1-1, any time, in more than 150 languages. It is free, and real people answer. 211ontario.ca
Guides and tools for this
These do not give the help themselves. They help you find it or understand it. All guides and tools
- Budget Planner (Financial Consumer Agency of Canada)
A free online tool from the Government of Canada that helps you make a budget in three steps and gives you tips to improve your finances.
- Consumer proposals explained (Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy)
The Government of Canada's plain explanation of a consumer proposal: an offer to pay creditors part of what you owe, or over more time, for up to five years, arranged by a Licensed
- Managing debt (Financial Consumer Agency of Canada)
The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada's pages on debt: ways to pay it down, how to find a reputable credit counsellor, debt management plans, and dealing with collection agencies
- When your debts get out of control (Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy)
A Government of Canada guide to your options when debts get too big: talking to your creditors, credit counselling, a debt management plan, a consumer proposal or bankruptcy, and h
Everything above is from their own websites, with the date we read each one. Tap “It worked” or “No answer” after you try one. That is how this stays true for the next person.
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