CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. - For the 12-month period ending Nov. 30, P.E.I. had a three per cent increase in bankruptcies – the highest percentage increase in Canada compared to the previous 12-month period.
In addition to the 416 bankruptcies up to Nov. 30, there were 299 insolvency proposals – a 5.7 per cent increase compared to the previous 12-month period (ending Nov. 30, 2017), according to insolvency numbers released Jan. 4 by the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada.
The majority of bankruptcies and proposals were from consumers or individuals with more than half of their total liability related to consumer goods and services.
With respect to businesses, only three went bankrupt as of Nov. 30 compared to 10 the previous 12 months. Proposals (or offers to creditors – also a formal agreement – to settle debts under different conditions than the existing terms) were also down from three in 2017 to one.
Despite the overall 12-month numbers, the 35 bankruptcies in November on the Island were only one more than October while the 28 proposals were down by two compared to October.
February had the most bankruptcies on the Island in 2018 with 48.
In terms of the other Atlantic Canadian provinces, Nova Scotia led the way with 299 bankruptcies in November followed by New Brunswick with 216 and Newfoundland and Labrador with 129.
Quebec had the most November bankruptcies in Canada with 1,889.
Also in November, there were 4,887 bankruptcies and 6,774 proposals in Canada. And, for the 12-month period ending Nov. 30, 2018, Canada had 58,035 bankruptcies and 70,475 proposals. The bankruptcies were a 4.9 per cent decline compared to the previous 12 months while the proposals were an 8.4 per cent increase.
While P.E.I.’s three-per cent increase was the highest percentage for bankruptcies, Newfoundland and Labrador had the highest percentage increase (11 per cent) in Canada of total insolvencies (bankruptcies and proposals) for the 12-month period ending Nov. 30 compared to the previous 12 months.
