Insolvencies up last year as business filings rise for first time since 2001

OTTAWA — The Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy says the total of number of insolvency filings grew by 9.3 per cent to 140,858 last year with consumers leading the way and business filings rising for the first time since 2001.

More than 97 per cent of insolvency filings were by consumers which marked the second highest level on record after 2009 at the end of the Great Recession.

Ontario had the most insolvency filings at 45,754, up 15 per cent from 2018.

The overall increase in insolvencies came as the total number of personal and business cases in the fourth quarter of 2019 climbed 9.8 per cent from the same period a year earlier.

The number of business insolvency filings in the fourth quarter were down 4.1 per cent compared with the fourth quarter of 2018, but up 9.7 per cent compared with the third quarter of 2019.

The mining, oil and gas sector led the way with a 75 per cent increase in the number of insolvency filings in 2019 over 2018, while Manitoba was hit hardest with business filings rising by more than 39 per cent, followed by the Atlantic provinces at 38 per cent.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 10, 2020.

The Canadian Press