Who Files Bankruptcy in Canada?

(Compiled by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada for the year 2011):

1. In 2011, 122,999 Canadians were unable to repay their debts (about 12,000 fewer than in 2010).

   Serious financial difficulties brought them to file either a payment proposal or a bankruptcy. The average amount owed was $119,021.

2. Who files bankruptcy, by Age: — About 53% of Canadians filing a proposal or bankruptcy in 2011 were aged 30 to 49 years.
3. Who files bankruptcy, by Marital Status — In 2007, individuals who were divorced or separated were more likely to file a proposal or go bankrupt than Canadian adults on average.
4. Who files bankruptcy, by Regions — The number of proposals and bankruptcies filed and the average amount of debt involved varied considerably across provinces and territories in 2011. Nunavut had the largest average debt and the lowest number of insolvents per adult population.
5. 32 percent were under 30;
6. 59 percent were men;
7. For 28 per cent of the people under 30, student loans were 50 per cent or more of the overall debt;
8. 43% of debtors were married / living in a common law partnership;
9. 29% of bankrupts were divorced;
10. 28% of debtors were single;
11. 15% of bankrupts were unmarried with a dependent under the age of 21 (unmarried individuals with at least one dependent makes up 10% of the general Canadian population);
12. In general, bankrupts have more education than the general population in Canada;
13. Those seeking bankruptcy protection were much poorer than the general population;
14. The unemployment rate was 9.5 percent in the general population but more than 25 per cent among the sample of those seeking bankruptcy protection.
15. Insolvencies filed per capita by province and territory:

The bankruptcy process is available to anyone in Canada struggling with their debts.

When you are dealing with a challenging financial situation, declaring bankruptcy is one way to get a fresh start.

Debtors who owe unsecured creditors for credit card debt, payday loan debts and income tax debts can take advantage of the bankruptcy laws.

Secured creditors cannot be impacted by your bankruptcy filing, so if you only have secured debts, filing bankruptcy likely won’t work for you.

The superintendent of bankruptcy governs all bankruptcy law in Canada, and gives decisions on bankruptcy cases.

The type of bankruptcy you opt for will depend on whether you owe money personally or through a business.