Alberta Consumer Insolvency Trends
By Ken Rowan, with data to April 2023
Data source: see notes following
AB
Monthly Filings
A five-year chart of Alberta-wide consumer insolvency filings.
Consumer Proposals
Annual File Growth
To measure growth we compare total filings in the 12 months ended April 2023 to those in the 12 months ended April 2022.
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.
Cities
Most Active This Month
We rank cities by the number of consumer insolvencies filed in the most recent month.
Highest Annual Growth Rates
We filter out cities having less than 120 filings per year and report the 10 having the highest annual growth rate.
| City | 12.mos.to.Apr2023 | 12.mos.to.Apr2022 | Change | Percent Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort McMurray | 468 | 373 | 95 | 25.5% |
| Spruce Grove | 251 | 200 | 51 | 25.5% |
| Medicine Hat | 330 | 271 | 59 | 21.8% |
| Red Deer | 621 | 519 | 102 | 19.7% |
| Lethbridge | 454 | 383 | 71 | 18.5% |
| Edmonton | 4216 | 3582 | 634 | 17.7% |
| Calgary | 4488 | 3821 | 667 | 17.5% |
| Sherwood Park | 255 | 221 | 34 | 15.4% |
| St. Albert | 189 | 177 | 12 | 6.8% |
| Grande Prairie | 326 | 306 | 20 | 6.5% |
Lowest Annual Growth Rates
We report the 5 cities with the lowest growth rates.
| City | 12.mos.to.Apr2023 | 12.mos.to.Apr2022 | Change | Percent Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airdrie | 281 | 306 | -25 | -8.2% |
| Leduc | 173 | 174 | -1 | -0.6% |
| Grande Prairie | 326 | 306 | 20 | 6.5% |
| St. Albert | 189 | 177 | 12 | 6.8% |
| Sherwood Park | 255 | 221 | 34 | 15.4% |
10-Year Monthly Highs and Lows
We determined the maximum and minimum monthly filings 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 - none
Lows - none
Forward Sortation Areas
Most Active This Month
The 20 most active FSAs in the current month and their monthly mean since 2013.
| FSA | FSA.Place.Name | City | April2023 | Mean | April2023.over.Mean |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T2A | Calgary (Penbrooke Meadows / Marlborough) | Calgary | 44 | 29.0 | 151.7% |
| T3J | Calgary (Martindale / Taradale / Falconridge / Saddle Ridge) | Calgary | 33 | 23.4 | 140.8% |
| T5T | Edmonton West (West Jasper Place / West Edmonton Mall) | Edmonton | 31 | 24.0 | 129.2% |
| T6W | Edmonton (Heritage Valley) | Edmonton | 26 | 15.2 | 171.6% |
| T2Z | Calgary (Douglas Glen / McKenzie Lake / Copperfield / East Shepard) | Calgary | 23 | 17.1 | 134.1% |
| T5X | Edmonton (East Castledowns) | Edmonton | 23 | 11.5 | 199.9% |
| T3K | Calgary (Sandstone / Harvest Hills / Coventry Hills / Panorama Hills / Beddington) | Calgary | 22 | 18.2 | 120.9% |
| T3N | Calgary Northeast | Calgary | 22 | 7.5 | 295.2% |
| T0A | Eastern Alberta (St. Paul) | Rural Area | 21 | 11.4 | 184.3% |
| T4R | Red Deer South | Red Deer | 21 | 10.6 | 197.4% |
| T9E | Leduc | Leduc | 21 | 11.7 | 179.0% |
| T2V | Calgary (Oak Ridge / Haysboro / Kingsland / Windsor Park) | Calgary | 20 | 8.0 | 249.2% |
| T6L | Edmonton (East Mill Woods) | Edmonton | 20 | 16.7 | 119.6% |
| T2X | Calgary (Midnapore / Sundance) | Calgary | 19 | 11.3 | 167.4% |
| T0B | Wainwright Region (Tofield) | Rural Area | 18 | 12.0 | 149.5% |
| T0C | Central Alberta (Stettler) | Rural Area | 18 | 11.9 | 150.7% |
| T1H | Lethbridge North | Lethbridge | 18 | 11.2 | 161.4% |
| T5Y | Edmonton (Landbank / Oliver / East Lake District) | Edmonton | 18 | 14.5 | 124.5% |
| T9K | Fort McMurray Northwest | Fort McMurray | 18 | 12.1 | 149.1% |
| T0L | Kananaskis Country (Claresholm) | Rural Area | 17 | 11.4 | 148.9% |
Highest Annual Growth Rates
We average over 10 years the monthly consumer insolvencies in FSAs and we filter out those having less than 72 files annually. We compare the number of files in the 12-month period ended April 2023 to those in the 12-month period ended April 2022 to calculate growth. We show the top fifteen.
| FSA | FSA_Place_Name | City | 12.mos.to.Apr2023 | 12.mos.to.Apr2022 | Change | Percent Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T5R | Edmonton (Central Jasper Place / Buena Vista) | Edmonton | 98 | 65 | 33 | 50.8% |
| T6R | Edmonton (Riverbend) | Edmonton | 113 | 75 | 38 | 50.7% |
| T2V | Calgary (Oak Ridge / Haysboro / Kingsland / Windsor Park) | Calgary | 135 | 92 | 43 | 46.7% |
| T5A | Edmonton (West Clareview / East Londonderry) | Edmonton | 211 | 148 | 63 | 42.6% |
| T6J | Edmonton (Kaskitayo) | Edmonton | 131 | 93 | 38 | 40.9% |
| T2C | Calgary (Lynnwood Ridge / Ogden / Foothills Industrial / Great Plains) | Calgary | 105 | 75 | 30 | 40.0% |
| T4C | Cochrane | Cochrane | 113 | 81 | 32 | 39.5% |
| T8L | Fort Saskatchewan | Fort Saskatchewan | 121 | 87 | 34 | 39.1% |
| T1K | Lethbridge Southeast | Lethbridge | 194 | 140 | 54 | 38.6% |
| T6M | Edmonton Southwest | Edmonton | 134 | 97 | 37 | 38.1% |
| T3C | Calgary (Rosscarrock / Wildwood / Shaganappi / Sunalta) | Calgary | 107 | 78 | 29 | 37.2% |
| T1S | Okotoks | Okotoks | 114 | 84 | 30 | 35.7% |
| T9K | Fort McMurray Northwest | Fort McMurray | 260 | 192 | 68 | 35.4% |
| T2A | Calgary (Penbrooke Meadows / Marlborough) | Calgary | 408 | 302 | 106 | 35.1% |
| T4N | Red Deer Central | Red Deer | 225 | 169 | 56 | 33.1% |
Lowest Annual Growth Rates
And we show the bottom 15.
| FSA | FSA_Place_Name | City | 12.mos.to.Apr2023 | 12.mos.to.Apr2022 | Change | Percent Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T4B | Airdrie West | Airdrie | 203 | 236 | -33 | -14.0% |
| T7Z | Stony Plain | Stony Plain | 66 | 75 | -9 | -12.0% |
| T0C | Central Alberta (Stettler) | Rural Area | 167 | 180 | -13 | -7.2% |
| T1J | Lethbridge West and Central | Lethbridge | 97 | 104 | -7 | -6.7% |
| T4S | Sylvan Lake | Sylvan Lake | 89 | 95 | -6 | -6.3% |
| T2X | Calgary (Midnapore / Sundance) | Calgary | 166 | 176 | -10 | -5.7% |
| T0K | International Border Region (Cardston) | Rural Area | 137 | 145 | -8 | -5.5% |
| T0H | Northwestern Alberta (High Level) | Rural Area | 191 | 202 | -11 | -5.4% |
| T2K | Calgary (Thornecliffe / Tuxedo) | Calgary | 159 | 163 | -4 | -2.5% |
| T6K | Edmonton (West Mill Woods) | Edmonton | 140 | 142 | -2 | -1.4% |
| T9E | Leduc | Leduc | 173 | 174 | -1 | -0.6% |
| T0M | Central Foothills (Sundre) | Rural Area | 224 | 222 | 2 | 0.9% |
| T3B | Calgary (Montgomery / Bowness / Silver Springs / Greenwood) | Calgary | 113 | 112 | 1 | 0.9% |
| T3A | Calgary (Dalhousie / Edgemont / Hamptons / Hidden Valley) | Calgary | 88 | 87 | 1 | 1.1% |
| T2J | Calgary (Queensland Downs / Lake Bonavista / Willow Park / Acadia) | Calgary | 115 | 112 | 3 | 2.7% |
Notes and Data Sources
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