Canadian business insolvencies were up 41.8 per cent from a year earlier in the third quarter, surpassing pre-pandemic levels. A sign on a shop window indicates the store is closed in Ottawa, Monday March 23, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
OTTAWA – Canadian business insolvencies were up 41.8 per cent from a year earlier in the third quarter, surpassing pre-pandemic levels.
The Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy says 1,129 businesses filed for a bankruptcy or proposal in the third quarter, up 3.6 per cent from the second quarter.
That’s compared with 827 filings in the third quarter of 2019.
Consumer insolvency filings were up 17.8 per cent from last year, but down 2.4 per cent from the second quarter.
They were still lower than pre-pandemic levels, however.
The Canadian Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Professionals says businesses are being hit by the withdrawal of COVID-19 support, higher interest rates and softening consumer spending.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 3, 2023.
