For a time, residents of Manitoba had some of the lowest borrowing rates in Canada. The province even ranked number 10 for average consumer debt in 2017, being one of the lowest levels of debt per capita in the entire country. Manitoba also maintains the smallest growth in the number of residents enrolling in consumer proposals and other debt solutions. This apparently indicated a disinclination to take on new credit card debt, installment loans, and other forms of consumer indebtedness, thereby contributing to the overall economic health of the province. Statistics show that that might be changing. Manitoba is slowly seeing an increase in insolvencies and other forms of debt. In fact, in the last ten years, the number of consumer proposals in Manitoba has more than doubled.
An excessive amount of consumer debt, we must remember, is a threat to one’s long-term financial health even if the interest rate charged on it is relatively small. As debt increases, so does the likelihood of default. That is why so many Manitobans are turning to debt solutions like the consumer proposal.
Insolvency & Consumer Proposal Statistics in Manitoba
Annual Consumer Insolvency Rates in Manitoba
(Per 1,000 Population Aged 18 Years and Older)
| Manitoba | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ’15 | ’16 | ’17 | ’18 | ’19 | ’20 | ’21 | ’22 | |
| Insolvency | 2.2 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.9 | 3.2 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 2.7 |
| Proposal | 0.9 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 2.0 |
| Southeast | ||||||||
| Insolvency | 1.9 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.7 | 2.1 | 1.7 | 1.8 |
| Proposal | 0.5 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 1.3 |
| Southwest | ||||||||
| Insolvency | 3.4 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 4.1 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 3.5 |
| Proposal | 1.8 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 2.5 |
| Winnipeg | ||||||||
| Insolvency | 2.3 | 2.9 | 2.8 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 2.7 | 2.4 | 2.7 |
| Proposal | 0.9 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 1.7 | 2.0 |
| Interlake | ||||||||
| Insolvency | 1.4 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 2.6 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.9 |
| Proposal | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.5 |
| Parklands and North | ||||||||
| Insolvency | 2.8 | 2.9 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 2.8 | 3.6 | 3.1 |
| Proposal | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 2.6 | 2.2 |
| South Central and North Central* | ||||||||
| Insolvency | 1.5 | 2.3 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 1.8 |
| Proposal | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.4 |
Source: https://www.ic.gc.ca/
* In 2014, Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey combined the following economic regions (ERs): South Central and North Central.