The economy is going well, but more and more British Columbians find it difficult to stay afloat.
Consumer bankruptcies climbed by 6. 1 per cent in August 2018 from the same month last year. This increase is consistent with large developments that show Canadians are borrowing and therefore getting themselves — albeit not inevitably — in financial trouble, said to get worse against the backdrop of rising interest rates.
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According to Statistics Canada,71 per cent of all Canadian families had some debt, up from 67 per cent in 1999. Debt includes both mortgages and consumer debt such as car loans, lines of credit, vehicle loans, personal loans and student debt.
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Notably, personal bankruptcies in British Columbia rose while the national rate dropped by 2.2 per cent during the same period.
Looking at businesses during the same period (August 2018 compared to 2017), they rose by 200 per cent from two to six filings, according to B.C. Statistics. The number of Canadian bankruptcies rose 0.5 per cent over the same period, with just over half 53 per cent being in the construction, retail trade and accommodation and food services sectors.
