Canadian insolvencies made a big jump, and they might be accelerating. Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada (OSB) data show total insolvencies made a double digit climb in October. The increase in filings is much faster than the already strong growth seen over the past year.

Canadian Insolvencies Rise Over 13% In October

Total insolvencies, including consumers and businesses, are ripping higher across Canada. Ontario saw the biggest growth with 4,315 insolvency filings in October, up 20.9% from last year. PEI follows with a much smaller 77 insolvencies, up 20.3% from last year. Nova Scotia comes in third with 606 insolvencies, up 17.4% from last year. Canada as a whole had 13,512 for the month, rising 13% from a year before. These 3 markets are showing much higher than typical growth, compared to the rest of the country.

Canadian October Insolvencies

The total number of insolvencies filed by consumers and businesses, for the month of October.

Source: OSB, Better Dwelling.

Only one province is seeing insolvencies fall. Manitoba was the only province to see a decline with 302 insolvencies in October, down 1.6% from last year. Saskatchewan follows with 372 insolvencies, UP 7.2% from last year. Quebec showed similar growth with 4,514 insolvencies, up 7.5% from last year as well. If you missed that, the biggest provincial declines are actually substantial growth.

Over The Past Year, Total Insolvencies Increased Over 8%

Over the past 12-month period, there’s also been robust growth of insolvencies. Newfoundland showed the largest increase with 3,224 insolvencies in the 12-months ending in October, up 16.7% compared to a year before. Alberta follows with 16,544 insolvencies, up 14.9% over the same period. Ontario has the third largest growth with 44,935 insolvencies, up 14.4% compared to a year before. To contrast, Canada as a whole had 139,194 insolvencies in the 12-months ending in October, up 8.8% from a year before. The top 3 are far overrepresented for growth.

Canadian October Insolvency Growth

The growth rate for the total number of insolvencies filed by consumers and businesses in October, compared to last year.

Source: OSB, Better Dwelling.

On the bottom of that stat… was still see growth, since every single province saw an increase. Saskatchewan showed the lowest growth with 3,476 insolvencies in the 12-months ending in October, up 0.6% from a year before. Quebec was just above that with 44,871 insolvencies, up 1.8% from last year. PEI comes in with the third smallest growth with 754 insolvencies, up 3.9% from last year. Other than Saskatchewan, every region showed significant growth for insolvencies over the past 12-months.

Many more Canadians are filing for insolvencies these days. Over the past year, there’s been substantial growth – especially in provinces like Ontario. More recently, insolvency growth has been coming in much higher though. The acceleration comes curiously, as credit growth starts to return.

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