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In a report Tuesday, CIBC said the number of Canadians being forced into insolvency is on the rise for the first time since the recession. The bank says the cumulative number of insolvencies rose by 1.2 per cent in the six-month period ended in February.

The overall increase came as personal bankruptcies across Canada fell by 4.7 per cent. However the number of proposals, in which consumers renegotiate with their financial institution to repay only a portion of their debt, jumped nine per cent, with Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba leading the way.

“The damage from lower oil prices is starting to show,” said CIBC economist Benjamin Tal.

Cumulative insolvencies in Manitoba and Saskatchewan rose by almost 11 per cent in the six-month period, while Alberta saw an 6.5 per cent increase, the province’s “worst showing since the recession,” CIBC said.

The report notes “there are reasons to believe that the coming quarters will see continued deterioration” in the number of bankruptcies in Canada’s largest oil-and-gas producing province.

For example, the number of bankruptcy proposals in Alberta is up 24 per cent in the six months ending in February. The province is also home to the highest share of bankruptcy proposals in Canada.

The most recent data from the Canadian Bankers Association show the percentage of its lenders’ mortgages at least three months in arrears in Alberta held steady at 0.27 per cent between October and February.