Full site: debtsgo.ca
Data to May 2023.
For data source see notes following.
A five-year chart of nation-wide consumer filings.
Filings of consumer proposals as a percentage of all filings.
To measure growth we compare total filings in the 12 months ending May 2023 to those in the 12 months ended May 2022.
We break down national figures by province.
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 | May2023 | Mean | May2023.over.Mean |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montreal - CMA | 1166 | 1349.9 | 86.4% |
| Toronto Region | 869 | 662.6 | 131.2% |
| Vancouver Metro | 541 | 404.3 | 133.8% |
| Calgary - CMA | 537 | 356.1 | 150.8% |
| Edmonton - CMA | 495 | 345.5 | 143.3% |
| Peel Region | 407 | 328.8 | 123.8% |
| Ottawa-Gatineau - CMA | 305 | 352.0 | 86.6% |
| London - CMA | 253 | 189.6 | 133.5% |
| York Region | 214 | 165.4 | 129.4% |
| Winnipeg - CMA | 203 | 133.1 | 152.5% |
| Quebec City - CMA | 195 | 196.4 | 99.3% |
| Hamilton - CMA | 184 | 155.0 | 118.7% |
| Durham Region | 172 | 138.9 | 123.8% |
| Kitchener - Cambridge -Waterloo - CMA | 170 | 146.3 | 116.2% |
| Halifax - CMA | 141 | 135.2 | 104.3% |
| St. Catharines - Niagara - CMA | 127 | 104.3 | 121.8% |
| Windsor - CMA | 113 | 91.3 | 123.7% |
| Barrie - CMA | 109 | 102.7 | 106.2% |
| Greater Sudbury - CMA | 107 | 89.6 | 119.4% |
| Halton Region | 102 | 85.0 | 120.0% |
| Saskatoon - CMA | 101 | 58.6 | 172.3% |
| St. John’s - CMA | 99 | 89.0 | 111.3% |
| Victoria - CMA | 87 | 82.2 | 105.8% |
| Sherbrooke - CMA | 78 | 86.5 | 90.1% |
| Regina - CMA | 74 | 55.9 | 132.3% |
| Trois Rivieres - CMA | 73 | 59.4 | 122.9% |
| Kamloops - CMA | 71 | 43.0 | 165.3% |
| Saint John - CMA | 69 | 57.1 | 120.8% |
| Belleville-Quinte West - CMA | 67 | 56.2 | 119.3% |
| Kelowna - CMA | 65 | 54.2 | 119.9% |
| Peterborough - CMA | 62 | 50.1 | 123.8% |
| Kingston - CMA | 57 | 43.9 | 130.0% |
| Moncton - CMA | 54 | 71.0 | 76.1% |
| Abbotsford - CMA | 51 | 38.2 | 133.5% |
| Lethbridge - CMA | 47 | 32.8 | 143.4% |
| Fredericton - CMA | 46 | 42.0 | 109.5% |
| Brantford - CMA | 42 | 33.0 | 127.3% |
| Chilliwack - CMA | 35 | 20.4 | 171.8% |
| Guelph - CMA | 34 | 29.6 | 114.8% |
| Nanaimo - CMA | 34 | 29.3 | 116.0% |
| Thunder Bay - CMA | 34 | 33.5 | 101.6% |
We rank cities by the number of consumer insolvencies filed in the most recent month.
| City | Province | May2023 | Mean | May2023.over.Mean |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calgary | AB | 485 | 319.9 | 151.6% |
| Edmonton | AB | 377 | 262.5 | 143.6% |
| Scarborough | ON | 207 | 162.4 | 127.5% |
| Winnipeg | MB | 203 | 131.6 | 154.3% |
| Brampton | ON | 202 | 149.2 | 135.4% |
| Toronto | ON | 192 | 143.2 | 134.0% |
| London | ON | 172 | 119.4 | 144.1% |
| Mississauga | ON | 172 | 156.9 | 109.6% |
| Hamilton | ON | 152 | 114.5 | 132.8% |
| North York | ON | 152 | 120.3 | 126.3% |
| Montreal | QC | 151 | 165.2 | 91.4% |
| Etobicoke | ON | 132 | 93.8 | 140.8% |
| Vancouver | BC | 123 | 98.4 | 125.0% |
| Surrey | BC | 121 | 99.8 | 121.2% |
| Saskatoon | SK | 101 | 58.6 | 172.3% |
| Windsor ON | ON | 86 | 70.0 | 122.9% |
| Ottawa | ON | 80 | 88.0 | 90.9% |
| Kitchener | ON | 79 | 68.1 | 116.0% |
| Regina | SK | 74 | 55.8 | 132.6% |
| Oshawa | ON | 70 | 57.0 | 122.8% |
| Quebec City | QC | 67 | 73.1 | 91.7% |
| Longueuil | QC | 65 | 71.2 | 91.3% |
| Red Deer | AB | 65 | 40.5 | 160.7% |
| Burnaby | BC | 62 | 34.0 | 182.1% |
| St. Catharines | ON | 62 | 44.8 | 138.3% |
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.May2023 | 12.mos.to.May2022 | Change | Percent Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bowmanville | ON | 159 | 91 | 68 | 74.7% |
| Lower Sackville | NS | 212 | 125 | 87 | 69.6% |
| Mascouche | QC | 186 | 113 | 73 | 64.6% |
| Vimont | QC | 93 | 57 | 36 | 63.2% |
| Belleville | ON | 271 | 167 | 104 | 62.3% |
| Esquimalt | BC | 168 | 104 | 64 | 61.5% |
| Penticton | BC | 137 | 86 | 51 | 59.3% |
| Cartierville | QC | 117 | 75 | 42 | 56.0% |
| Auteuil | QC | 80 | 52 | 28 | 53.8% |
| Niagara Falls | ON | 384 | 251 | 133 | 53.0% |
| Abbotsford | BC | 432 | 285 | 147 | 51.6% |
| St. John’s | NL | 405 | 272 | 133 | 48.9% |
| New Westminster | BC | 225 | 152 | 73 | 48.0% |
| Prince Albert | SK | 177 | 121 | 56 | 46.3% |
| Saint-Hyacinthe | QC | 312 | 215 | 97 | 45.1% |
| Don Mills | ON | 143 | 99 | 44 | 44.4% |
| Halifax | NS | 591 | 413 | 178 | 43.1% |
| Brossard | QC | 226 | 158 | 68 | 43.0% |
| Cote-Saint-Luc | QC | 107 | 75 | 32 | 42.7% |
| Saint-Laurent | QC | 223 | 158 | 65 | 41.1% |
| Dartmouth | NS | 430 | 305 | 125 | 41.0% |
| Highlands | BC | 186 | 132 | 54 | 40.9% |
| Trenton | ON | 146 | 104 | 42 | 40.4% |
| Truro | NS | 160 | 114 | 46 | 40.4% |
| Guelph | ON | 410 | 293 | 117 | 39.9% |
We report 25 cities with the lowest annual growth rates.
| City | Province | 12.mos.to.May2023 | 12.mos.to.May2022 | Change | Percent Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Val-d’Or | QC | 118 | 139 | -21 | -15.1% |
| Leduc | AB | 164 | 186 | -22 | -11.8% |
| Rimouski | QC | 134 | 152 | -18 | -11.8% |
| Chomedey | QC | 276 | 308 | -32 | -10.4% |
| Petite-Patrie | QC | 115 | 125 | -10 | -8.0% |
| Saint-Pierre | QC | 105 | 112 | -7 | -6.2% |
| Buckingham | QC | 108 | 114 | -6 | -5.3% |
| Villeray | QC | 138 | 144 | -6 | -4.2% |
| Vaudreuil-Dorion | QC | 161 | 167 | -6 | -3.6% |
| Airdrie | AB | 301 | 302 | -1 | -0.3% |
| Thornhill | ON | 170 | 170 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Loretteville | QC | 118 | 117 | 1 | 0.9% |
| Fabreville | QC | 81 | 79 | 2 | 2.5% |
| Lachine | QC | 133 | 129 | 4 | 3.1% |
| Sherbrooke | QC | 522 | 504 | 18 | 3.6% |
| Magog | QC | 108 | 104 | 4 | 3.8% |
| Beloeil | QC | 127 | 122 | 5 | 4.1% |
| Dollard-Des-Ormeaux | QC | 67 | 64 | 3 | 4.7% |
| Maple | ON | 104 | 98 | 6 | 6.1% |
| Chambly | QC | 133 | 125 | 8 | 6.4% |
| St. Albert | AB | 196 | 184 | 12 | 6.5% |
| Glace Bay | NS | 95 | 89 | 6 | 6.7% |
| Miramichi | NB | 111 | 104 | 7 | 6.7% |
| Prince George | BC | 248 | 232 | 16 | 6.9% |
| Salaberry-de-Valleyfield | QC | 230 | 215 | 15 | 7.0% |
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.
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 | May2023 | Mean | May2023.over.Mean |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T2A | Calgary (Penbrooke Meadows / Marlborough) | Calgary | AB | 42 | 29.1 | 144.3% |
| J0K | Lanaudiere-Nord (Saint-Esprit) | Rural Area | QC | 38 | 73.6 | 51.6% |
| T5T | Edmonton West (West Jasper Place / West Edmonton Mall) | Edmonton | AB | 38 | 24.1 | 157.6% |
| G0A | Capitale-Nationale (Stoneham) | Rural Area | QC | 35 | 27.0 | 129.5% |
| L7A | Brampton West | Brampton | ON | 35 | 19.7 | 177.8% |
| T3K | Calgary (Sandstone / Harvest Hills / Coventry Hills / Panorama Hills / Beddington) | Calgary | AB | 35 | 18.3 | 191.0% |
| L4N | Barrie South | Barrie | ON | 34 | 35.6 | 95.6% |
| H7N | Laval-des-Rapides | Laval-des-Rapides | QC | 33 | 21.3 | 155.2% |
| J0L | Monteregie-Nord (Saint-Antoine-Sur-Richelieu) | Rural Area | QC | 33 | 33.5 | 98.4% |
| T2Z | Calgary (Douglas Glen / McKenzie Lake / Copperfield / East Shepard) | Calgary | AB | 32 | 17.3 | 185.4% |
| K0K | Quinte Shores | Rural Area | ON | 29 | 27.2 | 106.6% |
| S7L | Saskatoon West | Saskatoon | SK | 29 | 13.7 | 211.7% |
| G0X | Mauricie (Parent) | Rural Area | QC | 28 | 19.5 | 143.4% |
| M1J | Scarborough (Eglinton) | Scarborough | ON | 28 | 13.8 | 203.6% |
| T6W | Edmonton (Heritage Valley) | Edmonton | AB | 28 | 15.3 | 183.5% |
| L3V | Orillia | Orillia | ON | 26 | 17.0 | 152.9% |
| M1B | Scarborough (Malvern / Rouge River) | Scarborough | ON | 26 | 20.9 | 124.6% |
| L6Y | Brampton South | Brampton | ON | 25 | 19.8 | 126.6% |
| M9W | Etobicoke Northwest (Clairville / Humberwood / Woodbine Downs / West Humber…) | Etobicoke | ON | 25 | 12.6 | 198.5% |
| T4P | Red Deer North | Red Deer | AB | 25 | 14.5 | 172.3% |
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 May 2023 to those in the 12-months ended May 2022 to calculate growth. We show the top 30.
| FSA | FSA_Place_Name | City | Province | 12.mos.to.May2023 | 12.mos.to.May2022 | Change | Percent Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B0S | West Annapolis County (Middleton) | Rural Area | NS | 69 | 32 | 37 | 115.6% |
| H4L | Saint-Laurent Inner Northeast | Saint-Laurent | QC | 83 | 39 | 44 | 112.8% |
| B4C | Lower Sackville South | Lower Sackville | NS | 110 | 53 | 57 | 107.5% |
| A1A | St. John’s North | St. John’s | NL | 117 | 58 | 59 | 101.7% |
| J8B | Sainte-Adele | Sainte-Adele | QC | 73 | 37 | 36 | 97.3% |
| J2T | Saint-Hyacinthe East | Saint-Hyacinthe | QC | 90 | 47 | 43 | 91.5% |
| L8W | Hamilton (West Albion Falls / Hannon / Rymal / Trenholme / Quinndale…) | Hamilton | ON | 98 | 52 | 46 | 88.5% |
| B2H | New Glasgow | New Glasgow | NS | 86 | 46 | 40 | 87.0% |
| L1K | Oshawa East | Oshawa | ON | 108 | 58 | 50 | 86.2% |
| S7K | Saskatoon North Central | Saskatoon | SK | 120 | 66 | 54 | 81.8% |
| B4H | Amherst | Amherst | NS | 85 | 47 | 38 | 80.9% |
| B0W | Southwest Mainland (Weymouth) | Rural Area | NS | 119 | 66 | 53 | 80.3% |
| M1H | Scarborough (Cedarbrae) | Scarborough | ON | 80 | 45 | 35 | 77.8% |
| K1C | Gloucester (West Orleans) | Gloucester | ON | 79 | 45 | 34 | 75.6% |
| G9T | Grand-Mere | Grand-Mere | QC | 86 | 49 | 37 | 75.5% |
| B6L | Truro | Truro | NS | 49 | 28 | 21 | 75.0% |
| L6Z | Brampton West Central | Brampton | ON | 89 | 51 | 38 | 74.5% |
| L1C | Bowmanville West | Bowmanville | ON | 139 | 80 | 59 | 73.8% |
| P7A | Thunder Bay Northeast | Thunder Bay | ON | 104 | 60 | 44 | 73.3% |
| K8N | Belleville East | Belleville | ON | 120 | 70 | 50 | 71.4% |
| M6H | West Toronto (Dufferin / Dovercourt Village) | Toronto | ON | 130 | 76 | 54 | 71.1% |
| G1K | Quebec City Mid-Riverbank | Quebec City | QC | 102 | 60 | 42 | 70.0% |
| B0M | Cobequid Bay north shore (Springhill) | Rural Area | NS | 95 | 56 | 39 | 69.6% |
| H4R | Saint-Laurent Central | Saint-Laurent | QC | 47 | 28 | 19 | 67.9% |
| L8H | Hamilton (West Kentley / McQuesten / Parkview / Hamilton Beach…) | Hamilton | ON | 132 | 79 | 53 | 67.1% |
| A0K | Northwest Newfoundland/Eastern Labrador (Mary’s Harbour) | Rural Area | NL | 90 | 54 | 36 | 66.7% |
| L5M | Mississauga (Churchill Meadows / Central Erin Mills / South Streetsville) | Mississauga | ON | 183 | 110 | 73 | 66.4% |
| P3A | Greater Sudbury (New Sudbury) | Greater Sudbury | ON | 109 | 66 | 43 | 65.2% |
| N1H | Guelph Northwest | Guelph | ON | 166 | 101 | 65 | 64.4% |
| B2Y | Dartmouth South Central | Dartmouth | NS | 72 | 44 | 28 | 63.6% |
And we show the bottom 30.
| FSA | FSA_Place_Name | City | Province | 12.mos.to.May2023 | 12.mos.to.May2022 | Change | Percent Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| L5J | Mississauga (Clarkson / Southdown) | Mississauga | ON | 56 | 80 | -24 | -30.0% |
| J2W | Saint-Luc | Saint-Luc | QC | 59 | 83 | -24 | -28.9% |
| H2L | Centre-Sud South | Montreal | QC | 53 | 72 | -19 | -26.4% |
| G7J | Chicoutimi West | Chicoutimi | QC | 57 | 76 | -19 | -25.0% |
| G5L | Rimouski Central | Rimouski | QC | 95 | 118 | -23 | -19.5% |
| H2E | Villeray Northeast | Villeray | QC | 66 | 79 | -13 | -16.5% |
| H7T | Chomedey Northwest | Chomedey | QC | 66 | 79 | -13 | -16.5% |
| G7S | Jonquiere Northeast | Jonquiere | QC | 41 | 49 | -8 | -16.3% |
| J5C | Sainte-Catherine | Sainte-Catherine | QC | 47 | 56 | -9 | -16.1% |
| J1H | Sherbrooke Central | Sherbrooke | QC | 147 | 174 | -27 | -15.5% |
| H3N | Parc-Extension | Parc-Extension | QC | 50 | 59 | -9 | -15.3% |
| P0H | Nipissing North (Callander) | Rural Area | ON | 72 | 85 | -13 | -15.3% |
| J9P | Val-d’Or | Val-d’Or | QC | 118 | 139 | -21 | -15.1% |
| H7W | Chomedey South | Chomedey | QC | 107 | 125 | -18 | -14.4% |
| H2S | Petite-Patrie Southwest | Petite-Patrie | QC | 58 | 67 | -9 | -13.4% |
| M9A | Etobicoke (Islington Avenue) | Etobicoke | ON | 103 | 118 | -15 | -12.7% |
| T9E | Leduc | Leduc | AB | 164 | 186 | -22 | -11.8% |
| K9V | Lindsay | Lindsay | ON | 90 | 101 | -11 | -10.9% |
| V0H | South Okanagan (Summerland) | Rural Area | BC | 99 | 111 | -12 | -10.8% |
| J4V | Greenfield Park | Greenfield Park | QC | 51 | 57 | -6 | -10.5% |
| J7V | Vaudreuil-Dorion | Vaudreuil-Dorion | QC | 113 | 126 | -13 | -10.3% |
| K8A | Pembroke Central and northern subdivisions | Pembroke | ON | 82 | 91 | -9 | -9.9% |
| N6C | London South (East Highland / North White Oaks / North Westminster) | London | ON | 107 | 118 | -11 | -9.3% |
| G1P | Quebec City West | Quebec City | QC | 53 | 58 | -5 | -8.6% |
| N0P | Kent (Blenheim) | Rural Area | ON | 131 | 143 | -12 | -8.4% |
| T4B | Airdrie West | Airdrie | AB | 214 | 233 | -19 | -8.2% |
| J3P | Sorel Central | Sorel | QC | 92 | 100 | -8 | -8.0% |
| J3E | Sainte-Julie | Sainte-Julie | QC | 36 | 39 | -3 | -7.7% |
| K1K | Ottawa (Overbrook) | Ottawa | ON | 140 | 151 | -11 | -7.3% |
| R2G | Winnipeg (River East North) | Winnipeg | MB | 77 | 83 | -6 | -7.2% |
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 May 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