The Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy has reported a 13.4% increase in insolvencies for the month of October since last year, according to the Globe and Mail.
Insolvency refers to financial distress in which Canadians are unable to pay their bills.
The office declared a total of 13,200 insolvencies for the month, making it the highest amount since the 2008 financial crisis.
Annually, so far 2019 has seen a 10% increase in insolvencies in comparison to the same period in 2018.
Canadians throughout the country are struggling to pay off their debt. Similar trends are affecting every province.
In total, Canadian household debt has ballooned to $2.25-trillion, growing a total of $870 billion over the past ten years.
An Ipsos survey from earlier this year found that nearly half (48%) of all Canadians are reporting buying $200 or less away from financial insolvency.
The same poll reported that any interest rate increase would make struggling Canadians bankrupt and that another 54% worry about their ability to repay their debt.
Economic growth in Canada has slowed down in the past few months and the unemployment rate has remained steady.
During October, the Canadian economy lost nearly two thousand jobs and the unemployment level stagnated at 5.5%. A total of 16,100 full-time jobs were lost while part-time work grew by 14,300 jobs.
