Canada Consumer Insolvency Trends
By Ken Rowan, with data to April 2023
Data source: see notes following
Canada
Monthly Filings
A five-year chart of nation-wide consumer filings.
Consumer Proposals
Filings of consumer proposals as a percentage of all filings equalled 78.04% in April 2023.
Annual File Growth
To measure growth we compare total filings in the 12 months ending April 2023 to those in the 12 months ended April 2022.
Provincial
Annual File Growth
We break down national figures by province.
Regions / Municipal Areas
Mean and Current Monthly Filings
We consider census metropolitan areas and regions and compare current volumes with the 10-year historical mean. Showing the current month as a percentage of the mean reveals the degree to which current filings exceed the mean.
| CMA.Region | April2023 | Mean | April2023.over.Mean |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montreal - CMA | 926 | 1351.3 | 68.5% |
| Toronto Region | 716 | 660.9 | 108.3% |
| Edmonton - CMA | 472 | 344.3 | 137.1% |
| Vancouver Metro | 458 | 403.2 | 113.6% |
| Calgary - CMA | 443 | 354.6 | 124.9% |
| Peel Region | 293 | 328.2 | 89.3% |
| Ottawa-Gatineau - CMA | 291 | 352.4 | 82.6% |
| Winnipeg - CMA | 180 | 132.6 | 135.8% |
| York Region | 180 | 165.0 | 109.1% |
| London - CMA | 176 | 189.1 | 93.1% |
| Quebec City - CMA | 164 | 196.4 | 83.5% |
| Hamilton - CMA | 156 | 154.8 | 100.8% |
| Durham Region | 154 | 138.6 | 111.1% |
| Halifax - CMA | 151 | 135.1 | 111.8% |
| Kitchener - Cambridge -Waterloo - CMA | 150 | 146.1 | 102.6% |
| St. John’s - CMA | 132 | 88.9 | 148.5% |
| St. Catharines - Niagara - CMA | 121 | 104.1 | 116.2% |
| Barrie - CMA | 118 | 102.6 | 115.0% |
| Windsor - CMA | 106 | 91.2 | 116.3% |
| Sherbrooke - CMA | 87 | 86.6 | 100.5% |
| Victoria - CMA | 87 | 82.2 | 105.8% |
| Halton Region | 84 | 84.9 | 99.0% |
| Greater Sudbury - CMA | 82 | 89.5 | 91.7% |
| Regina - CMA | 77 | 55.8 | 138.0% |
| Saskatoon - CMA | 76 | 58.3 | 130.4% |
| Belleville-Quinte West - CMA | 70 | 56.1 | 124.8% |
| Moncton - CMA | 59 | 71.1 | 83.0% |
| Kelowna - CMA | 55 | 54.1 | 101.6% |
| Peterborough - CMA | 55 | 50.0 | 110.0% |
| Kingston - CMA | 54 | 43.8 | 123.4% |
| Trois Rivieres - CMA | 53 | 59.3 | 89.4% |
| Lethbridge - CMA | 52 | 32.7 | 159.2% |
| Saint John - CMA | 52 | 57.0 | 91.2% |
| Abbotsford - CMA | 51 | 38.1 | 133.8% |
| Kamloops - CMA | 46 | 42.7 | 107.6% |
| Brantford - CMA | 45 | 32.9 | 136.7% |
| Nanaimo - CMA | 37 | 29.3 | 126.4% |
| Thunder Bay - CMA | 37 | 33.5 | 110.6% |
| Guelph - CMA | 35 | 29.6 | 118.3% |
| Fredericton - CMA | 29 | 42.0 | 69.1% |
| Chilliwack - CMA | 21 | 20.2 | 103.7% |
Cities
Most Active This Month
We rank cities by the number of consumer insolvencies filed in the most recent month.
| City | Province | April2023 | Mean | April2023.over.Mean |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calgary | AB | 415 | 318.5 | 130.3% |
| Edmonton | AB | 359 | 261.6 | 137.2% |
| Winnipeg | MB | 178 | 131.0 | 135.9% |
| Scarborough | ON | 172 | 162.0 | 106.1% |
| Toronto | ON | 164 | 142.8 | 114.8% |
| Mississauga | ON | 161 | 156.8 | 102.7% |
| Vancouver | BC | 127 | 98.2 | 129.4% |
| Etobicoke | ON | 125 | 93.4 | 133.8% |
| North York | ON | 122 | 120.0 | 101.6% |
| London | ON | 121 | 118.9 | 101.7% |
| Montreal | QC | 119 | 165.3 | 72.0% |
| Hamilton | ON | 118 | 114.2 | 103.3% |
| Brampton | ON | 108 | 148.8 | 72.6% |
| Surrey | BC | 88 | 99.7 | 88.3% |
| Windsor ON | ON | 86 | 69.8 | 123.1% |
| Ottawa | ON | 83 | 88.1 | 94.2% |
| Regina | SK | 77 | 55.6 | 138.4% |
| Saskatoon | SK | 76 | 58.3 | 130.4% |
| Oshawa | ON | 66 | 56.9 | 116.0% |
| Barrie | ON | 63 | 54.5 | 115.7% |
| Quebec City | QC | 62 | 73.1 | 84.8% |
| Halifax | NS | 59 | 48.9 | 120.7% |
| Kitchener | ON | 59 | 68.0 | 86.7% |
| St. John’s | NL | 54 | 32.0 | 168.9% |
| St. Catharines | ON | 52 | 44.7 | 116.3% |
Highest Annual Growth Rates
Of approximately 654 cities we filter out those with less than 120 filings per year, leaving 192 more active cities. We rank the top 25 by rate of annual growth.
| City | Province | 12.mos.to.Apr2023 | 12.mos.to.Apr2022 | Change | Percent Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Esquimalt | BC | 174 | 94 | 80 | 85.1% |
| Penticton | BC | 135 | 83 | 52 | 62.7% |
| Mascouche | QC | 175 | 109 | 66 | 60.6% |
| Lower Sackville | NS | 196 | 126 | 70 | 55.6% |
| Vimont | QC | 85 | 55 | 30 | 54.5% |
| Auteuil | QC | 80 | 52 | 28 | 53.8% |
| Abbotsford | BC | 423 | 280 | 143 | 51.1% |
| Belleville | ON | 258 | 171 | 87 | 50.9% |
| Highlands | BC | 184 | 124 | 60 | 48.4% |
| St. John’s | NL | 397 | 269 | 128 | 47.6% |
| Niagara Falls | ON | 366 | 249 | 117 | 47.0% |
| Saint-Hyacinthe | QC | 308 | 210 | 98 | 46.7% |
| Cartierville | QC | 114 | 78 | 36 | 46.2% |
| Don Mills | ON | 136 | 93 | 43 | 46.2% |
| Guelph | ON | 412 | 282 | 130 | 46.1% |
| New Westminster | BC | 225 | 155 | 70 | 45.2% |
| Peterborough | ON | 305 | 213 | 92 | 43.2% |
| Cornwall | ON | 255 | 179 | 76 | 42.5% |
| Prince Albert | SK | 171 | 120 | 51 | 42.5% |
| Trenton | ON | 145 | 102 | 43 | 42.2% |
| Barrie | ON | 689 | 489 | 200 | 40.9% |
| Bowmanville | ON | 135 | 96 | 39 | 40.6% |
| Milton | ON | 246 | 176 | 70 | 39.8% |
| Welland | ON | 264 | 189 | 75 | 39.7% |
| Halifax | NS | 586 | 420 | 166 | 39.5% |
Lowest Annual Growth Rates
We report 25 cities with the lowest annual growth rates.
| City | Province | 12.mos.to.Apr2023 | 12.mos.to.Apr2022 | Change | Percent Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Val-d’Or | QC | 117 | 138 | -21 | -15.2% |
| Chomedey | QC | 268 | 314 | -46 | -14.6% |
| Rimouski | QC | 134 | 149 | -15 | -10.1% |
| Petite-Patrie | QC | 111 | 121 | -10 | -8.3% |
| Airdrie | AB | 281 | 306 | -25 | -8.2% |
| Vaudreuil-Dorion | QC | 155 | 164 | -9 | -5.5% |
| Lachine | QC | 125 | 132 | -7 | -5.3% |
| Fabreville | QC | 75 | 79 | -4 | -5.1% |
| Thornhill | ON | 162 | 169 | -7 | -4.1% |
| Sorel | QC | 152 | 157 | -5 | -3.2% |
| Maple | ON | 100 | 103 | -3 | -2.9% |
| Miramichi | NB | 103 | 104 | -1 | -1.0% |
| Loretteville | QC | 116 | 117 | -1 | -0.9% |
| Villeray | QC | 134 | 135 | -1 | -0.7% |
| Leduc | AB | 173 | 174 | -1 | -0.6% |
| Magog | QC | 105 | 104 | 1 | 1.0% |
| Notre-Dame-de-Grace | QC | 81 | 79 | 2 | 2.5% |
| Gatineau | QC | 519 | 504 | 15 | 3.0% |
| Chicoutimi | QC | 230 | 223 | 7 | 3.1% |
| Sherbrooke | QC | 521 | 504 | 17 | 3.4% |
| Saint-Hubert | QC | 277 | 265 | 12 | 4.5% |
| Hull | QC | 262 | 249 | 13 | 5.2% |
| Dollard-Des-Ormeaux | QC | 70 | 66 | 4 | 6.1% |
| Grande Prairie | AB | 326 | 306 | 20 | 6.5% |
| Buckingham | QC | 112 | 105 | 7 | 6.7% |
10-Year Monthly Highs and Lows
We determined the maximum and minimum monthly filings for each city since 2013 and compared these to the current monthly filings to determine whether the city was experiencing an historic high or low number of filings.
Highs
Lows
Forward Sortation Areas
Most Active This Month
We list the 20 most active FSAs in the current month and show their mean monthly filings since 2013.
| FSA | FSA_Place_Name | City | Prov | April2023 | Mean | April2023.over.Mean |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J0K | Lanaudiere-Nord (Saint-Esprit) | Rural Area | QC | 56 | 73.9 | 75.8% |
| T2A | Calgary (Penbrooke Meadows / Marlborough) | Calgary | AB | 44 | 29.0 | 151.7% |
| L4N | Barrie South | Barrie | ON | 41 | 35.6 | 115.3% |
| G0R | Appalaches (La Pocatiere) | Rural Area | QC | 34 | 21.4 | 158.7% |
| K0K | Quinte Shores | Rural Area | ON | 34 | 27.2 | 125.0% |
| T3J | Calgary (Martindale / Taradale / Falconridge / Saddle Ridge) | Calgary | AB | 33 | 23.4 | 140.8% |
| T5T | Edmonton West (West Jasper Place / West Edmonton Mall) | Edmonton | AB | 31 | 24.0 | 129.2% |
| J6E | Joliette | Joliette | QC | 28 | 21.6 | 129.4% |
| A0A | Southeastern Avalon Peninsula (Ferryland) | Rural Area | NL | 26 | 17.9 | 145.2% |
| T6W | Edmonton (Heritage Valley) | Edmonton | AB | 26 | 15.2 | 171.6% |
| P1B | North Bay Central | North Bay | ON | 25 | 14.5 | 172.6% |
| L5A | Mississauga (Mississauga Valleys / East Cooksville) | Mississauga | ON | 24 | 16.5 | 145.6% |
| H1G | Montreal North North | Montreal | QC | 23 | 23.2 | 99.0% |
| M9V | Etobicoke (South Steeles / Silverstone / Humbergate / Jamestown / Mount Olive … ) | Etobicoke | ON | 23 | 18.1 | 127.3% |
| T2Z | Calgary (Douglas Glen / McKenzie Lake / Copperfield / East Shepard) | Calgary | AB | 23 | 17.1 | 134.1% |
| T5X | Edmonton (East Castledowns) | Edmonton | AB | 23 | 11.5 | 199.9% |
| G0A | Capitale-Nationale (Stoneham) | Rural Area | QC | 22 | 27.0 | 81.6% |
| J0B | Estrie-Est (Stanstead) | Rural Area | QC | 22 | 19.4 | 113.2% |
| J0L | Monteregie-Nord (Saint-Antoine-Sur-Richelieu) | Rural Area | QC | 22 | 33.5 | 65.6% |
| J3B | Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu Central | Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu | QC | 22 | 20.9 | 105.2% |
Highest Annual Growth Rates
We average over 10 years the monthly consumer insolvencies in approximately 1,750 reported FSAs and we filter out FSAs having less than 72 files annually, leaving about 635 FSAs for further analysis. We compare the number of files in the 12-months ended April 2023 to those in the 12-months ended April 2022 to calculate growth. We show the top 30.
| FSA | FSA_Place_Name | City | Province | 12.mos.to.Apr2023 | 12.mos.to.Apr2022 | Change | Percent Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J2T | Saint-Hyacinthe East | Saint-Hyacinthe | QC | 90 | 42 | 48 | 114.3% |
| A1A | St. John’s North | St. John’s | NL | 116 | 57 | 59 | 103.5% |
| J8B | Sainte-Adele | Sainte-Adele | QC | 72 | 36 | 36 | 100.0% |
| B4C | Lower Sackville South | Lower Sackville | NS | 101 | 51 | 50 | 98.0% |
| P7A | Thunder Bay Northeast | Thunder Bay | ON | 108 | 56 | 52 | 92.9% |
| B4H | Amherst | Amherst | NS | 86 | 45 | 41 | 91.1% |
| M6H | West Toronto (Dufferin / Dovercourt Village) | Toronto | ON | 132 | 71 | 61 | 85.9% |
| B0S | West Annapolis County (Middleton) | Rural Area | NS | 65 | 35 | 30 | 85.7% |
| V9A | Esquimalt | Esquimalt | BC | 174 | 94 | 80 | 85.1% |
| B2H | New Glasgow | New Glasgow | NS | 79 | 43 | 36 | 83.7% |
| G9T | Grand-Mere | Grand-Mere | QC | 84 | 46 | 38 | 82.6% |
| H4L | Saint-Laurent Inner Northeast | Saint-Laurent | QC | 78 | 43 | 35 | 81.4% |
| L6Z | Brampton West Central | Brampton | ON | 85 | 48 | 37 | 77.1% |
| N6K | London (Riverbend / Woodhull / North Sharon Creek / Byron / West Westmount) | London | ON | 106 | 60 | 46 | 76.7% |
| R2W | Winnipeg (Point Douglas East) | Winnipeg | MB | 141 | 80 | 61 | 76.2% |
| L8W | Hamilton (West Albion Falls / Hannon / Rymal / Trenholme / Quinndale…) | Hamilton | ON | 91 | 52 | 39 | 75.0% |
| M1H | Scarborough (Cedarbrae) | Scarborough | ON | 77 | 44 | 33 | 75.0% |
| K1C | Gloucester (West Orleans) | Gloucester | ON | 80 | 46 | 34 | 73.9% |
| B0W | Southwest Mainland (Weymouth) | Rural Area | NS | 115 | 67 | 48 | 71.6% |
| L1K | Oshawa East | Oshawa | ON | 104 | 61 | 43 | 70.5% |
| J6Y | Terrebonne Southwest | Terrebonne | QC | 63 | 37 | 26 | 70.3% |
| K2J | Nepean (Barrhaven) | Nepean | ON | 150 | 89 | 61 | 68.5% |
| B5A | Yarmouth | Yarmouth | NS | 100 | 60 | 40 | 66.7% |
| B0M | Cobequid Bay north shore (Springhill) | Rural Area | NS | 91 | 55 | 36 | 65.5% |
| K8N | Belleville East | Belleville | ON | 117 | 71 | 46 | 64.8% |
| S7K | Saskatoon North Central | Saskatoon | SK | 113 | 69 | 44 | 63.8% |
| N1H | Guelph Northwest | Guelph | ON | 165 | 101 | 64 | 63.4% |
| N5Z | London (Glen Cairn) | London | ON | 134 | 82 | 52 | 63.4% |
| K9H | Peterborough North | Peterborough | ON | 106 | 65 | 41 | 63.1% |
| V2A | Penticton | Penticton | BC | 135 | 83 | 52 | 62.7% |
Lowest Annual Growth Rates
And we show the bottom 30.
| FSA | FSA_Place_Name | City | Province | 12.mos.to.Apr2023 | 12.mos.to.Apr2022 | Change | Percent Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J2W | Saint-Luc | Saint-Luc | QC | 60 | 83 | -23 | -27.7% |
| G7J | Chicoutimi West | Chicoutimi | QC | 55 | 76 | -21 | -27.6% |
| H2L | Centre-Sud South | Montreal | QC | 52 | 69 | -17 | -24.6% |
| H7W | Chomedey South | Chomedey | QC | 102 | 132 | -30 | -22.7% |
| J3P | Sorel Central | Sorel | QC | 86 | 104 | -18 | -17.3% |
| V0H | South Okanagan (Summerland) | Rural Area | BC | 93 | 112 | -19 | -17.0% |
| G1P | Quebec City West | Quebec City | QC | 51 | 61 | -10 | -16.4% |
| B1P | Sydney North Central | Sydney | NS | 64 | 76 | -12 | -15.8% |
| J9P | Val-d’Or | Val-d’Or | QC | 117 | 138 | -21 | -15.2% |
| L5J | Mississauga (Clarkson / Southdown) | Mississauga | ON | 63 | 74 | -11 | -14.9% |
| G5L | Rimouski Central | Rimouski | QC | 96 | 112 | -16 | -14.3% |
| J4V | Greenfield Park | Greenfield Park | QC | 49 | 57 | -8 | -14.0% |
| T4B | Airdrie West | Airdrie | AB | 203 | 236 | -33 | -14.0% |
| A0H | Central Newfoundland (Bishops Falls) | Rural Area | NL | 70 | 80 | -10 | -12.5% |
| G7S | Jonquiere Northeast | Jonquiere | QC | 42 | 48 | -6 | -12.5% |
| H2S | Petite-Patrie Southwest | Petite-Patrie | QC | 56 | 64 | -8 | -12.5% |
| T7Z | Stony Plain | Stony Plain | AB | 66 | 75 | -9 | -12.0% |
| J1H | Sherbrooke Central | Sherbrooke | QC | 149 | 169 | -20 | -11.8% |
| M9A | Etobicoke (Islington Avenue) | Etobicoke | ON | 104 | 117 | -13 | -11.1% |
| H7V | Chomedey East | Chomedey | QC | 81 | 91 | -10 | -11.0% |
| H3N | Parc-Extension | Parc-Extension | QC | 50 | 56 | -6 | -10.7% |
| H7T | Chomedey Northwest | Chomedey | QC | 68 | 76 | -8 | -10.5% |
| K9V | Lindsay | Lindsay | ON | 91 | 101 | -10 | -9.9% |
| E2K | Saint John North | Saint John | NB | 84 | 93 | -9 | -9.7% |
| N6C | London South (East Highland / North White Oaks / North Westminster) | London | ON | 107 | 118 | -11 | -9.3% |
| E2V | Oromocto | Oromocto | NB | 60 | 66 | -6 | -9.1% |
| L5L | Mississauga (Erin Mills / Western Business Park) | Mississauga | ON | 95 | 104 | -9 | -8.7% |
| G0J | Gaspesie-Ouest (Causapscal) | Rural Area | QC | 108 | 117 | -9 | -7.7% |
| J7V | Vaudreuil-Dorion | Vaudreuil-Dorion | QC | 113 | 122 | -9 | -7.4% |
| H4C | Saint-Henri | Saint-Henri | QC | 51 | 55 | -4 | -7.3% |
Notes
FSA and Forward Sortation Area are protected terms for the benefit of Canada Post Corporation.
Data source: The Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy (“OSB”), Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, data sets 2013 to April 2023, https://open.canada.ca/
We report on only consumer bankruptcies and consumer proposals as defined by the OSB. For definitions, see https://open.canada.ca/
Ken Rowan is a retired Licensed Insolvency Trustee and a retired CA, CPA.
Questions or Comments? Email debtsgo.ca