Recent statistics from the Canadian Bankers Association (CBA) show that Saskatchewan residents are triple the average of Canadians who are behind on mortgage payments.

0.79% of mortgage owners are currently in arrears in Saskatchewan, while the average number of Canadians in arrears in only 0.24%.

That's 1,033 of the current 130,544 mortgage holders that are behind on their bills. Saskatchewan isn't the province with the highest number of Canadians in arrears; Quebec leads with 2,685 in arrears and is the highest per capita. The Saskatchewan rate has been slowly on the rise since July 2008.

The data is taken from BMO, CIBC, HSBC Bank Canada, National Bank of Canada, RBC Royal Bank, Scotiabank, TD Canada Trust, Canadian Western Bank, Manulife Bank (as of April 2004) and Laurentian Bank (as of October 2010). It does not include numbers from credit unions and private lenders.

The reasons may vary as to why some are behind on payments. Rob Reynar, Manager of Operations and Member Services at the Association of Regina Realtors, said it can be tied to one thing.

"Well when you look at the numbers and how they tie to general, slower economic times," he said. "I mean I don't think anyone can debate that we've seen higher levels of unemployment, some mortgage holders are having a tougher time paying the bills as a result and generally slower economic times could be a result and could lead to a few more arrears."

The Seasonally Adjusted Unemployment Rate for Saskatchewan is currently at 6.3%, while Canada sits at an even 6%.

Of the 4,767,903 Canadians with mortgages, 11,511 are currently behind on payments.

You can read the full, in-depth report on the CBA's website.