Canada Consumer Insolvency Trends
Ken Rowan
January 5, 2024
Full site: debtsgo.ca
Data to
November 2023 For data source see notes following.
Canada
Monthly Filings
Consumer insolvencies were up 5.3% from October and were up 22.7% year-over-year.
Consumer Proposals
CPs represented 78.0% of all consumer filings in November 2023, down slightly from October.
File Growth
Provincial
Monthly File Growth
Annual File Growth
Regions / Municipal Areas
Mean and Current Monthly Filings
| CMA.Region | Nov2023 | Mean | Nov2023.over.Mean |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montreal - CMA | 1225 | 1312.1 | 93.4% |
| Toronto Region | 861 | 662.5 | 130.0% |
| Edmonton - CMA | 608 | 366.1 | 166.1% |
| Vancouver Metro | 570 | 405.1 | 140.7% |
| Calgary - CMA | 537 | 371.8 | 144.4% |
| Peel Region | 396 | 325.8 | 121.5% |
| Ottawa-Gatineau - CMA | 325 | 348.7 | 93.2% |
| London - CMA | 255 | 188.1 | 135.6% |
| Quebec City - CMA | 250 | 198.1 | 126.2% |
| Hamilton - CMA | 232 | 153.0 | 151.7% |
| York Region | 229 | 165.1 | 138.7% |
| Winnipeg - CMA | 228 | 139.9 | 163.0% |
| Kitchener - Cambridge -Waterloo - CMA | 209 | 146.0 | 143.2% |
| Durham Region | 195 | 137.8 | 141.5% |
| Halifax - CMA | 143 | 135.0 | 105.9% |
| St. Catharines - Niagara - CMA | 137 | 103.7 | 132.1% |
| Barrie - CMA | 133 | 100.8 | 131.9% |
| Halton Region | 122 | 85.0 | 143.5% |
| Windsor - CMA | 121 | 89.7 | 134.9% |
| St. John’s - CMA | 111 | 91.3 | 121.5% |
| Sherbrooke - CMA | 96 | 86.2 | 111.3% |
| Greater Sudbury - CMA | 86 | 89.4 | 96.2% |
| Victoria - CMA | 86 | 81.4 | 105.7% |
| Regina - CMA | 84 | 59.9 | 140.1% |
| Saskatoon - CMA | 84 | 61.6 | 136.3% |
| Kelowna - CMA | 78 | 53.5 | 145.7% |
| Trois Rivieres - CMA | 78 | 59.5 | 131.1% |
| Moncton - CMA | 70 | 70.7 | 99.0% |
| Peterborough - CMA | 64 | 49.5 | 129.3% |
| Lethbridge - CMA | 63 | 34.2 | 184.0% |
| Belleville-Quinte West - CMA | 59 | 55.2 | 106.9% |
| Brantford - CMA | 56 | 33.0 | 169.5% |
| Kingston - CMA | 50 | 43.9 | 113.8% |
| Saint John - CMA | 49 | 56.5 | 86.8% |
| Kamloops - CMA | 47 | 43.1 | 109.1% |
| Guelph - CMA | 44 | 29.8 | 147.9% |
| Thunder Bay - CMA | 42 | 33.9 | 124.0% |
| Abbotsford - CMA | 39 | 37.8 | 103.2% |
| Nanaimo - CMA | 36 | 28.7 | 125.3% |
| Fredericton - CMA | 35 | 41.2 | 85.0% |
| Chilliwack - CMA | 33 | 20.9 | 157.6% |
Greater Toronto Area
Toronto Region: Toronto, Don Mills, Downsview, Weston, Willowdale. Peel Region: Bolton, Brampton, Caledon, Mississauga. Durham Region: Ajax, Courtice, Oshawa, Pickering, Port Perry, Uxbridge, Whitby. Halton Region: Acton, Burlington, Georgetown, Milton, Oakville, Orangeville. York Region: Aurora, Concord, Holland Landing, Keswick, King City, Maple, Markham, Newmarket, Richmond Hill, Stouffville, Thornhill, Woodbridge.
Monthly Filings
Major Cities
Monthly Growth Rates
Yearly Growth Rates
10-Year Monthly Highs and Lows
New Highs
New Lows - none
Forward Sortation Areas
Canada has 1,648 FSAs. When analyzing and reporting on them I filter out FSAs having an average of less than 6 monthly consumer insolvencies, leaving 639 FSAs.
Most Actives
| FSA | FSA_Place_Name | City | Prov | Nov2023 | Mean | Nov2023.over.Mean |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J0K | Lanaudiere-Nord (Saint-Esprit) | Rural Area | QC | 69 | 72.3 | 95.4% |
| L4N | Barrie South | Barrie | ON | 44 | 34.7 | 126.8% |
| T5T | Edmonton West (West Jasper Place / West Edmonton Mall) | Edmonton | AB | 39 | 25.7 | 151.6% |
| T6W | Edmonton (Heritage Valley) | Edmonton | AB | 36 | 17.2 | 209.5% |
| L7A | Brampton West | Brampton | ON | 35 | 19.9 | 176.0% |
| T2Y | Calgary (Millrise / Somerset / Bridlewood / Evergreen) | Calgary | AB | 35 | 18.3 | 191.5% |
| L4M | Barrie North | Barrie | ON | 34 | 17.6 | 192.9% |
| J6E | Joliette | Joliette | QC | 33 | 22.0 | 150.3% |
| J0L | Monteregie-Nord (Saint-Antoine-Sur-Richelieu) | Rural Area | QC | 32 | 33.0 | 96.9% |
| K0K | Quinte Shores | Rural Area | ON | 32 | 26.4 | 121.2% |
| L6Y | Brampton South | Brampton | ON | 30 | 19.9 | 151.1% |
| T2Z | Calgary (Douglas Glen / McKenzie Lake / Copperfield / East Shepard) | Calgary | AB | 30 | 18.0 | 167.1% |
| T1H | Lethbridge North | Lethbridge | AB | 29 | 11.8 | 246.5% |
| J0T | Laurentides-Nord (Montcalm) | Rural Area | QC | 28 | 23.8 | 117.8% |
| L9T | Milton | Milton | ON | 28 | 17.8 | 157.3% |
Top % Annual Gainers
| FSA | FSA_Place_Name | City | Prov | 12.mos.to.Nov2023 | YOY Change | YOY Pct Chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J6Z | Sainte-Therese-de-Blainville Northeast | Sainte-Therese-de-Blainville | QC | 53 | 26 | 96.3% |
| R2V | Winnipeg (Seven Oaks East) | Winnipeg | MB | 175 | 84 | 92.3% |
| A1L | Paradise | Paradise | NL | 98 | 46 | 88.5% |
| P6C | Sault Ste. Marie North | Sault Ste. Marie | ON | 122 | 53 | 76.8% |
| N5R | St. Thomas South | St. Thomas | ON | 152 | 66 | 76.7% |
| H1P | Saint-Leonard North | Montreal | QC | 65 | 28 | 75.7% |
| J6Y | Terrebonne Southwest | Terrebonne | QC | 72 | 31 | 75.6% |
| M6B | North York (Glencairn) | Toronto | ON | 121 | 52 | 75.4% |
| B4C | Lower Sackville South | Lower Sackville | NS | 118 | 50 | 73.5% |
| N8W | Windsor (South Walkerville / West Fontainbleu / Walker Farm / Devonshire) | Windsor ON | ON | 103 | 43 | 71.7% |
| J3H | Beloeil East | Beloeil | QC | 63 | 26 | 70.3% |
| N7M | Chatham Southeast | Chatham, ON | ON | 139 | 57 | 69.5% |
| N6J | London (Southcrest / East Westmount / West Highland) | London | ON | 149 | 61 | 69.3% |
| L8H | Hamilton (West Kentley / McQuesten / Parkview / Hamilton Beach…) | Hamilton | ON | 162 | 65 | 67.0% |
| L0S | Niagara Regional Municipality (Fonthill) | Rural Area | ON | 120 | 48 | 66.7% |
Top % Annual Losers
And we show the bottom 30.
| FSA | FSA_Place_Name | City | Prov | 12.mos.to.Nov2023 | YOY Chg | YOY Pct Chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G7B | La Baie | La Baie | QC | 49 | -16 | -24.6% |
| T0B | Wainwright Region (Tofield) | Rural Area | AB | 160 | -45 | -22.0% |
| P0L | Cochrane Region (Hearst) | Rural Area | ON | 71 | -19 | -21.1% |
| K1K | Ottawa (Overbrook) | Ottawa | ON | 135 | -27 | -16.7% |
| G0V | Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean (Alouette) | Rural Area | QC | 51 | -10 | -16.4% |
| E1X | Tracadie-Sheila | Tracadie-Sheila | NB | 68 | -12 | -15.0% |
| B0S | West Annapolis County (Middleton) | Rural Area | NS | 52 | -9 | -14.8% |
| H1Z | Saint-Michel West | Saint-Michel | QC | 98 | -15 | -13.3% |
| J1H | Sherbrooke Central | Sherbrooke | QC | 148 | -20 | -11.9% |
| J5T | Lavaltrie | Lavaltrie | QC | 59 | -8 | -11.9% |
| J8P | Gatineau Southeast | Gatineau | QC | 188 | -24 | -11.3% |
| T0H | Northwestern Alberta (High Level) | Rural Area | AB | 178 | -22 | -11.0% |
| H2G | Petite-Patrie Northeast | Petite-Patrie | QC | 52 | -6 | -10.3% |
| C1N | Summerside | Summerside | PE | 72 | -8 | -10.0% |
| E2J | Saint John East | Saint John | NB | 109 | -12 | -9.9% |
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 November 2023, https://open.canada.ca/ , debtsgo.ca
Consumer bankruptcies and consumer proposals are as defined by the BIA and the OSB. For definitions, see https://open.canada.ca/
Ken Rowan is a retired Licensed Insolvency Trustee and a retired CPA-CA, CA
Questions or Comments? Email debtsgo.ca