The number of businesses and consumers filing for bankruptcy across Canada rose 19.2% in May from a year earlier and was up 3.1% from the previous month.
The Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy attributed the rise in bankruptcy filings to
elevated inflation and interest rates, as well as the removal of government financial supports that had been provided during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Consumer bankruptcies totaled 12,195 in May, an increase of 11.3% from a year earlier.
Consumer bankruptcies have now risen for five consecutive months and are at their highest level since late 2019.
Bankruptcies among businesses totaled 530 in May, up 41.7% from the same month in 2023.
Construction sector bankruptcies were especially high in May at 92 companies, up 109.1% from a year earlier.
Across Canada, bankruptcies have been steadily increasing since the end of the pandemic, with business insolvencies continuously rising for nearly three years now.
Business bankruptcies in Canada this May were 67.6% higher than in the same month of 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic began.
