Canadian Insolvency Statistics 2026: Filings by Province

Canadians filed 145,681 consumer insolvencies in the 12 months to July 2026, up 5.4% from 138,204 a year earlier (Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, OSB) and 4.0% below the calendar-year record of 151,712 set in 2009 (our calculation from OSB monthly counts). The only higher rolling 12-month totals on record are the windows ending September 2009 through May 2010, plus the one ending June 2026.

The mix underneath looks nothing like 2009. Nearly four in five filers now choose a consumer proposal over bankruptcy, yet in 2025 bankruptcies grew faster than proposals for the first calendar year since 1989, with Ontario supplying most of the increase. Per adult, Newfoundland and Labrador files at the highest provincial rate and British Columbia at the lowest, though British Columbia’s count is up 45.8% on 2019. We summed the OSB monthly series back to 1987 to see what is new.

Insight 01

Consumer insolvencies are 4.0% short of the 2009 record, and March 2026 set an all-time high for proposals

The rolling 12-month count peaked at 145,762 in the window ending June 2026, then slipped to 145,681 (OSB). Since monthly records began in 1987, only nine windows have been higher, all at the tail of the financial crisis: those ending September 2009 through May 2010.

The climb has been steady. Consumer filings hit a pandemic low of 90,092 in 2021, then rose to 100,184 in 2022, 123,233 in 2023, 137,295 in 2024 and 140,457 in 2025. The latest 12-month count is 61.7% above 2021 and 6.2% above 2019, the last full year before the pandemic (our calculation from OSB counts).

Period	Consumer insolvencies
2009	151,712
2010	135,008
2019	137,178
2020	96,458
2021	90,092
2022	100,184
2023	123,233
2024	137,295
2025	140,457
12 months to July 2026	145,681

Source: OSB historical monthly insolvency statistics, July 2026 release. Calendar totals are our sums of the monthly series.

March 2026 brought 13,406 consumer insolvencies, more than any month since 2009; only March, April, June and September of 2009 were higher. It also brought 10,658 consumer proposals, the most in any month since the series began. June 2026 was up 11.8% on June 2025.

Then July cooled: 12,204 consumer filings, down 0.7% from July 2025, with bankruptcies up 6.1% and proposals down 2.5% (OSB). The OSB itself says monthly volumes “tend to vary widely”, so one soft month says little. Year to date is steadier: 86,848 consumer filings from January to July 2026, up 6.4% from 81,624 in the same months of 2025.

10,658Consumer proposals filed in March 2026, the highest monthly count in OSB data going back to 1987.

Insight 02

Proposals replaced bankruptcy, but bankruptcies are now growing faster: +8.6% against +4.5%

The near-record total hides a complete change in how Canadians go insolvent. In 2009, 116,381 consumers went bankrupt and 35,331 filed proposals. In the 12 months to July 2026, 31,840 went bankrupt and 113,841 filed proposals (OSB). Bankruptcies are down 72.6% from 2009; proposals are 3.2 times their 2009 level (our calculation).

A consumer proposal is a legal deal, administered by a Licensed Insolvency Trustee, to repay part of what you owe over up to five years. It covers debts up to $250,000, not counting a mortgage on your principal residence, and creditors have 45 days to accept or reject it (OSB). Proposals passed half of consumer filings for the first time in 2017, at 52.6%, and have sat near 78% since 2023.

Period	Proposal share
2009	23.3%
2014	45.1%
2017	52.6%
2019	60.3%
2021	69.5%
2023	78.7%
2024	78.8%
2025	78.4%
12 months to July 2026	78.1%

Source: OSB historical monthly insolvency statistics. Shares are our calculation from consumer proposal and consumer insolvency counts.

The new part is the direction of growth. Calendar 2025 was the first year since 1989 in which consumer bankruptcies grew faster than proposals, +4.3% against +1.8% (our calculation from the OSB monthly series). In 1989 proposals were 1.2% of consumer filings, so this is the first time it has happened since proposals became a mainstream route. On a rolling basis, bankruptcies have outgrown proposals in every 12-month window since the one ending February 2025, 18 in a row; before that run, the last such window ended September 2009. In the latest 12 months the gap widened to +8.6% against +4.5% (OSB).

Ontario accounts for most of it. Of the 2,534 additional consumer bankruptcies in Canada in the 12 months to July 2026, 2,100 were in Ontario, where bankruptcies rose 22.2% to 11,553 while proposals rose 5.1% (our calculation from OSB counts). Ontario’s proposal share fell to 79.4% from 81.8%. Alberta shows the same split more sharply: bankruptcies up 12.0%, proposals down 2.7%.

The data counts filings, not reasons. Our interpretation, not a finding: a proposal works only if the filer can keep up a monthly payment for up to five years, and it is deemed annulled after three missed payments (OSB). People whose income no longer stretches to a meaningful payment may be steered toward bankruptcy, where a first discharge is usually automatic after nine months, or 21 if surplus income payments apply. If so, the bankruptcy rise reflects thinner budgets as much as more debt.

Insight 03

British Columbia’s filings are up 45.8% on 2019, yet it still files at the lowest provincial rate

Against calendar 2019, the country splits in two. In the 12 months to July 2026, British Columbia is up 45.8%, Manitoba 32.1%, Ontario 25.1% and Alberta 13.9%; Quebec is down 17.6%, and Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are each more than 25% below (our calculation from OSB counts).

Province	Change vs 2019
British Columbia	+45.8%
Manitoba	+32.1%
Ontario	+25.1%
Alberta	+13.9%
Saskatchewan	+4.5%
Quebec	-17.6%
Newfoundland and Labrador	-25.6%
New Brunswick	-26.1%
Nova Scotia	-27.8%

Source: OSB historical monthly insolvency statistics. Our calculation. Bar length shows the size of the change; darker contrast bars are declines. Prince Edward Island and the territories are left out because their small counts make percent changes unstable.

Divide by population and the ranking flips. Per 1,000 adults aged 18 and over, Newfoundland and Labrador leads at 5.11, followed by New Brunswick at 4.89, Quebec at 4.78 and Nova Scotia at 4.72. British Columbia is last among the provinces at 3.41, even after its jump (our calculation from OSB counts and Statistics Canada population).

Province	Per 1,000 adults
Newfoundland and Labrador	5.11
New Brunswick	4.89
Quebec	4.78
Nova Scotia	4.72
Alberta	4.71
Prince Edward Island	4.33
Canada	4.26
Ontario	4.20
Saskatchewan	3.63
Manitoba	3.48
British Columbia	3.41

Source: OSB consumer insolvency counts; Statistics Canada Table 17-10-0005-01, population aged 18 and over, July 1, 2026 (preliminary postcensal). Our calculation.

Rate and momentum tell different stories. Atlantic Canada and Quebec have long filed at high rates; in 2019 Nova Scotia and New Brunswick were both above 7.4 per 1,000 adults, so today’s figures are a decline. British Columbia, Manitoba and Ontario started low and are climbing: Ontario from 3.80 in 2019 to 4.20, British Columbia from 2.65 to 3.41. Canada as a whole is at 4.26, still below its 2019 rate of 4.52, because the adult population grew faster than filings.

Quebec also stands apart on method. Its proposal share is 69.9%, the lowest of any province, against roughly 85% in Alberta and British Columbia. The gap is old: Quebec’s share was 53.3% in 2019 against 60.3% nationally, and 18.3% in 2009 against 23.3% (our calculation from OSB counts).

Insight 04

Business insolvencies fell 8.4% while consumer filings rose, and Quebec accounts for 54% of them

Business insolvencies moved the other way: 4,742 in the 12 months to July 2026, down 8.4% from 5,176 a year earlier (OSB). Consumers made up 96.8% of all 150,423 insolvency filings in the period.

The decline follows a spike. Business filings reached 6,188 in 2024, the highest calendar year since 2009, then fell to 4,840 in 2025 (OSB). The latest 12-month figure is still 28.9% above 2019’s 3,680 (our calculation), so the business side has cooled rather than returned to normal.

Quebec filed 2,562 of the 4,742 business insolvencies, 54.0% of the national total, while holding 21.7% of the country’s adults. Ontario, with 39.1% of adults, recorded 1,400. The concentration is not new: Quebec’s share was 57.8% in 2019, up from 37.5% in 2009 (our calculation from OSB counts and Statistics Canada population).

Two cautions. These counts cover only Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act filings; large restructurings under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act, and receiverships, are tracked separately. And a business count is not a jobs count: one large firm failing can matter more to a local labour market than a hundred small ones.

96.8%Share of all Canadian insolvency filings in the 12 months to July 2026 that were made by consumers rather than businesses (OSB).

Insight 05

Filers aged 35 to 49 made up 38.3% of 2025 filings, and filings citing debt-advisor help fell more than 37%

The OSB’s 2025 annual report adds two details the monthly counts cannot. Consumers aged 35 to 49 made up 38.3% of insolvency filings in 2025, the largest share of any age group, up from 37.8% in 2024. The report does not say what kind of debt this group carries.

The second is about how people arrive. Consumer filings that reported professional advice from debt advisors fell by more than 37% in 2025 compared with 2024, and by 49.1% since 2023 (OSB). The report gives no reason. Possible explanations include a change in how the question is answered, a change in that industry, or more people going straight to a Licensed Insolvency Trustee, the professional who administers proposals and bankruptcies. The published figures cannot separate them.

What this data can’t tell you

• Why people file. OSB counts record the type of filing and the province, not the cause, so our reading of the bankruptcy rise is interpretation, not evidence.
• How much debt is involved. A $20,000 proposal and a $240,000 proposal count the same.
• Monthly direction. Single months swing widely, and the OSB points readers to quarterly and annual figures, which is why we lead with rolling 12-month totals.
• All insolvency. Figures cover Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act filings only, not receiverships or Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act cases.
• Small places. In Prince Edward Island and the territories a few dozen filings move percent changes sharply, so we do not rank them on change.
• Final population. The 2026 adult population is a preliminary postcensal estimate; rates will shift slightly when Statistics Canada revises it.
• August onward. The August 2026 release had not been published as of October 3, 2026.

Methodology and sources

All counts come from the OSB historical monthly insolvency dataset (July 2026 release), January 1987 to July 2026, by province, checked against the OSB’s July 2026 statistics page. “12 months to July 2026” means August 2025 to July 2026. Calendar-year totals are our sums of the same monthly series.

Key inputs. Canada, 12 months to July 2026: 31,840 bankruptcies plus 113,841 proposals = 145,681 consumer insolvencies, against 138,204 a year earlier (+5.4%), 151,712 in 2009 (-4.0%), 137,178 in 2019 (+6.2%) and 90,092 in 2021 (+61.7%). Bankruptcies against 2009: 31,840 / 116,381 = 0.274, a 72.6% decline. Proposals against 2009: 113,841 / 35,331 = 3.22. Proposal share: 113,841 / 145,681 = 78.1%. Growth comparison, 2025 against 2024: bankruptcies 30,289 vs 29,040 (+4.3%); proposals 110,168 vs 108,255 (+1.8%). We tested every calendar year from 1988 to 2025, and every rolling 12-month window from the one ending December 1988 against the window a year earlier, for bankruptcy growth above proposal growth. Only 1989 and 2025 qualify as calendar years; before the rolling run that began February 2025, the last qualifying window ended September 2009. Proposals were 1.2% of consumer insolvencies in 1989. Ontario bankruptcy increase: 11,553 – 9,453 = 2,100, against a national increase of 31,840 – 29,306 = 2,534.

Rates per 1,000 adults divide consumer insolvencies by Statistics Canada’s July 1 estimate of the population aged 18 and over (Table 17-10-0005-01). For the 12 months to July 2026 we use the 2026 estimate: Canada 145,681 / 34,158,557 x 1,000 = 4.26; Newfoundland and Labrador 2,396 / 468,501 = 5.11; British Columbia 16,358 / 4,792,276 = 3.41. 2019 rates use calendar 2019 filings and the 2019 estimate (Canada 137,178 / 30,361,209 = 4.52). The OSB’s official rate for Canada in 2025 is 4.06 per 1,000 in its insolvency rates table (4.1 in its 2025 annual report); our method gives 4.13 (140,457 / 33,972,255) because the population base differs, so every rate in this report is our calculation, not an official figure. Provincial comparisons with 2019 set the 12 months to July 2026 against calendar 2019, for example British Columbia 16,358 against 11,221 (+45.8%). Business shares use Quebec and Canada business counts from the same dataset.

1. Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, Insolvency statistics in Canada, July 2026
2. Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, Historical insolvency statistics, monthly dataset (Open Government Portal, July 2026 release)
3. Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, Insolvency statistics in Canada, 2025 annual report
4. Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, Consumer proposals
5. Statistics Canada, Table 17-10-0005-01, Population estimates on July 1, by age and gender

Frequently asked questions

How many Canadians filed for insolvency in 2026?

In the 12 months to July 2026, 145,681 consumers filed for insolvency in Canada, up 5.4% from a year earlier (OSB). From January to July 2026 there were 86,848 consumer filings, 6.4% more than in the same months of 2025 (our calculation from OSB monthly counts).

Are insolvencies in Canada higher than in 2009?

Not yet: the 12-month total of 145,681 consumer insolvencies to July 2026 is 4.0% below the 2009 record of 151,712 (our calculation from OSB counts). The only higher rolling 12-month totals since 1987 are the windows ending September 2009 through May 2010, and June 2026 at 145,762.

What share of consumer insolvencies are consumer proposals?

Consumer proposals were 78.1% of consumer insolvencies in the 12 months to July 2026, down from 78.8% a year earlier (OSB) and up from 23.3% in 2009 (our calculation). Over the same 12 months, consumer bankruptcies grew 8.6% and proposals 4.5% (OSB).

Which province has the highest insolvency rate?

Newfoundland and Labrador has the highest rate, at 5.11 consumer insolvencies per 1,000 adults in the 12 months to July 2026, and British Columbia the lowest at 3.41 (our calculation from OSB and Statistics Canada data). By raw count, Ontario leads with 56,094 filings.

What is the difference between a consumer proposal and bankruptcy?

A consumer proposal repays part of debts of up to $250,000 (excluding a mortgage on your home) over no more than five years, while a first bankruptcy usually ends with an automatic discharge after nine months, or 21 months if surplus income payments apply (OSB). Both are administered by a Licensed Insolvency Trustee, and a proposal is deemed annulled after three missed monthly payments.