Alberta Consumer Insolvency Trends
Ken Rowan
June 28, 2023
Full site: debtsgo.ca
Data to May 2023.
For 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 May 2023 to those in the 12 months ended May 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.May2023 | 12.mos.to.May2022 | Change | Percent Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sherwood Park | 261 | 204 | 57 | 27.9% |
| Red Deer | 638 | 517 | 121 | 23.4% |
| Fort McMurray | 463 | 378 | 85 | 22.5% |
| Medicine Hat | 330 | 274 | 56 | 20.4% |
| Calgary | 4622 | 3858 | 764 | 19.8% |
| Lethbridge | 461 | 389 | 72 | 18.5% |
| Edmonton | 4238 | 3616 | 622 | 17.2% |
| Spruce Grove | 246 | 216 | 30 | 13.9% |
| Grande Prairie | 330 | 302 | 28 | 9.3% |
| St. Albert | 196 | 184 | 12 | 6.5% |
Lowest Annual Growth Rates
We report the 5 cities with the lowest growth rates.
| City | 12.mos.to.May2023 | 12.mos.to.May2022 | Change | Percent Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leduc | 164 | 186 | -22 | -11.8% |
| Airdrie | 301 | 302 | -1 | -0.3% |
| St. Albert | 196 | 184 | 12 | 6.5% |
| Grande Prairie | 330 | 302 | 28 | 9.3% |
| Spruce Grove | 246 | 216 | 30 | 13.9% |
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.
New Highs
New 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 | May2023 | Mean | May2023.over.Mean |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T2A | Calgary (Penbrooke Meadows / Marlborough) | Calgary | 42 | 29.1 | 144.3% |
| T5T | Edmonton West (West Jasper Place / West Edmonton Mall) | Edmonton | 38 | 24.1 | 157.6% |
| T3K | Calgary (Sandstone / Harvest Hills / Coventry Hills / Panorama Hills / Beddington) | Calgary | 35 | 18.3 | 191.0% |
| T2Z | Calgary (Douglas Glen / McKenzie Lake / Copperfield / East Shepard) | Calgary | 32 | 17.3 | 185.4% |
| T6W | Edmonton (Heritage Valley) | Edmonton | 28 | 15.3 | 183.5% |
| T4P | Red Deer North | Red Deer | 25 | 14.5 | 172.3% |
| T8N | St. Albert | St. Albert | 25 | 12.0 | 207.5% |
| T0A | Eastern Alberta (St. Paul) | Rural Area | 24 | 11.5 | 208.8% |
| T2Y | Calgary (Millrise / Somerset / Bridlewood / Evergreen) | Calgary | 24 | 17.3 | 138.6% |
| T1H | Lethbridge North | Lethbridge | 21 | 11.2 | 187.0% |
| T3J | Calgary (Martindale / Taradale / Falconridge / Saddle Ridge) | Calgary | 21 | 23.4 | 89.7% |
| T4B | Airdrie West | Airdrie | 21 | 17.0 | 123.7% |
| T4N | Red Deer Central | Red Deer | 21 | 14.7 | 143.2% |
| T5Y | Edmonton (Landbank / Oliver / East Lake District) | Edmonton | 21 | 14.5 | 144.7% |
| T6X | Edmonton (Ellerslie) | Edmonton | 21 | 11.3 | 185.1% |
| T0M | Central Foothills (Sundre) | Rural Area | 20 | 18.3 | 109.2% |
| T3G | Calgary (Hawkwood / Arbour Lake / Royal Oak / Rocky Ridge) | Calgary | 20 | 10.8 | 184.6% |
| T6L | Edmonton (East Mill Woods) | Edmonton | 20 | 16.8 | 119.4% |
| T2X | Calgary (Midnapore / Sundance) | Calgary | 19 | 11.4 | 166.5% |
| T3N | Calgary Northeast | Calgary | 19 | 7.5 | 251.9% |
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 May 2023 to those in the 12-month period ended May 2022 to calculate growth. We show the top fifteen.
| FSA | FSA_Place_Name | City | 12.mos.to.May2023 | 12.mos.to.May2022 | Change | Percent Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T5R | Edmonton (Central Jasper Place / Buena Vista) | Edmonton | 101 | 65 | 36 | 55.4% |
| T2V | Calgary (Oak Ridge / Haysboro / Kingsland / Windsor Park) | Calgary | 135 | 93 | 42 | 45.2% |
| T2C | Calgary (Lynnwood Ridge / Ogden / Foothills Industrial / Great Plains) | Calgary | 110 | 76 | 34 | 44.7% |
| T5W | Edmonton (Central Beverly) | Edmonton | 128 | 89 | 39 | 43.8% |
| T4C | Cochrane | Cochrane | 113 | 79 | 34 | 43.0% |
| T2A | Calgary (Penbrooke Meadows / Marlborough) | Calgary | 425 | 301 | 124 | 41.2% |
| T6J | Edmonton (Kaskitayo) | Edmonton | 131 | 93 | 38 | 40.9% |
| T4N | Red Deer Central | Red Deer | 233 | 166 | 67 | 40.4% |
| T6R | Edmonton (Riverbend) | Edmonton | 109 | 78 | 31 | 39.7% |
| T0L | Kananaskis Country (Claresholm) | Rural Area | 185 | 133 | 52 | 39.1% |
| T8A | Sherwood Park West | Sherwood Park | 114 | 82 | 32 | 39.0% |
| T5L | Edmonton (North Westmount / West Calder / East Mistatim) | Edmonton | 96 | 70 | 26 | 37.1% |
| T6H | Edmonton (Southgate / North Riverbend) | Edmonton | 91 | 67 | 24 | 35.8% |
| T5A | Edmonton (West Clareview / East Londonderry) | Edmonton | 213 | 158 | 55 | 34.8% |
| T5X | Edmonton (East Castledowns) | Edmonton | 199 | 153 | 46 | 30.1% |
Lowest Annual Growth Rates
And we show the bottom 15.
| FSA | FSA_Place_Name | City | 12.mos.to.May2023 | 12.mos.to.May2022 | Change | Percent Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T9E | Leduc | Leduc | 164 | 186 | -22 | -11.8% |
| T4B | Airdrie West | Airdrie | 214 | 233 | -19 | -8.2% |
| T0K | International Border Region (Cardston) | Rural Area | 135 | 144 | -9 | -6.2% |
| T1J | Lethbridge West and Central | Lethbridge | 99 | 101 | -2 | -2.0% |
| T0H | Northwestern Alberta (High Level) | Rural Area | 190 | 193 | -3 | -1.6% |
| T7Z | Stony Plain | Stony Plain | 77 | 78 | -1 | -1.3% |
| T2X | Calgary (Midnapore / Sundance) | Calgary | 175 | 176 | -1 | -0.6% |
| T2K | Calgary (Thornecliffe / Tuxedo) | Calgary | 161 | 161 | 0 | 0.0% |
| T6T | Edmonton (Meadows) | Edmonton | 168 | 168 | 0 | 0.0% |
| T5H | Edmonton (North and East Downtown Fringe) | Edmonton | 143 | 142 | 1 | 0.7% |
| T5Y | Edmonton (Landbank / Oliver / East Lake District) | Edmonton | 237 | 235 | 2 | 0.9% |
| T0C | Central Alberta (Stettler) | Rural Area | 176 | 174 | 2 | 1.1% |
| T0G | North Central Alberta (Slave Lake) | Rural Area | 121 | 119 | 2 | 1.7% |
| T3B | Calgary (Montgomery / Bowness / Silver Springs / Greenwood) | Calgary | 117 | 113 | 4 | 3.5% |
| T6K | Edmonton (West Mill Woods) | Edmonton | 147 | 141 | 6 | 4.3% |
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 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