Insolvencies have ticked up among consumers and businesses in Canada as of December 2024, according to the government’s “Insolvency Statistics in Canada – December 2024” report.
Business insolvencies soared by 28.6 percent for the 12 months ending December 31, 2024, compared to the percentage logged for the 12 months ending December 31, 2023. Most of these insolvencies were recorded in the construction, transportation and warehousing and accommodation and food services sectors; by contrast, insolvencies fell in the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction industries.
Insolvencies among consumers from December 31, 2024 rose 11.4 percent compared to the previous year. Proposals ticked up by 11.6 percent and bankruptcies increased by 10.8 percent.
The percentage of consumer insolvency-related proposals rose to 78.8 percent in the same period, slightly up from the previous year’s 78.7 percent. In this period, the proportion of consumer insolvency filings dominated total insolvency filings at 95.7 percent.
In December 2024, the total number of insolvencies ticked by 1.2 percent compared to December 2023. Overall, consumer insolvencies increased by 1.7 percent; however, business insolvencies dropped by 26.1 percent.
Compared to November 2024, the total number of insolvencies, including bankruptcies and proposals, fell by 20.6 percent in December. In this period, bankruptcies decreased by 20.1 percent and proposals by 20.7 percent.
Canada recorded 9,686 insolvencies in December 2024 under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, which provides the framework for filing and administering insolvencies in the country. Of these, 2,293 were bankruptcies and 7,393 proposals. Ontario logged the most insolvencies of all provinces at 3,731, followed by Quebec with 2,287. Nunavut recorded only one insolvency.
Under the “Insolvency Statistics in Canada – December 2024” report, a proposal is defined as a formal offer to creditors to settle debt under conditions different from current ones. Bankruptcy is the state of a business or consumer that made an assignment in bankruptcy or has been issued a bankruptcy order.