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During the dark days of pandemic lockdowns, low interest rates and government support threw a lifeline to Canadians.

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Our net worth increased as we spent less and saved more and insolvencies and loan delinquencies dropped.

Until now.

Numbers out this week from the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy “paint a picture of many people feeling increasingly vulnerable to ongoing economic shocks,” said insolvency trustees Bromwich+Smith after their release.

Consumer and business insolvencies jumped 28 per cent in March from the month before, reaching their highest level since February 2020, the start of the pandemic, as more Canadians struggle with record levels of household debt, inflation and higher interest rates.

March is typically a strong month for insolvencies, but this increase is more significant than usual, said Charles St-Arnaud, chief economist at Alberta Central, in a report on the data. The rise in many provinces is double what it would normally be.

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“The total level of insolvencies in Manitoba, B.C. and Alberta is above its pre-pandemic one; a situation that suggests a rise in households struggling with their debt load,” said St-Arnaud.

BMO chief economist Douglas Porter said March’s spike is an eye opener, though when seasonally adjusted the numbers don’t look quite so alarming, as his chart below shows.

“Still, the key takeaway is that the extreme lows of the pandemic are now behind us, and more typical economic drivers are taking hold,” he wrote in a note.

Most economists agree that it’s likely to get worse.

A recent report from Royal Bank of Canada predicted that consumer insolvencies could rise almost 30 per cent over the next three years.

“The noticeable improvement in Canadians’ finances early in the pandemic wasn’t sustainable,” said RBC economist Robert Hogue and research associate Mishael Liu.

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“These gains are now reversing and will erode further amid a softening economy and higher interest rates.”

The effects of Bank of Canada rate hikes will continue to slow the economy and as they do, unemployment will rise, pushing more Canadians to renegotiate their debt or declare bankruptcy.

“All those factors point to a rise in insolvencies in 2023,” said St-Arnaud.

Among the provinces, Nova Scotia and Manitoba led the rise with insolvencies soaring 40 per cent over last year. Ontario insolvencies were up 31 per cent, Alberta, 30 per cent, B.C., 28.5 per cent and Quebec, 26 per cent.

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Canadians have long complained about how much they pay for their mobile data, but just how bad is it? A study of 2022 data prices by financial product comparison site HelloSafe found Canada, where you pay on average $7.75 a gigabyte, was the 19th most expensive country in the world. Only South Koreans, who pay $16.36 per gigabyte, Swiss, who pay $9.61, and New Zealanders, $8.77, pay more of countries with the same standard of living.

One gigabyte of mobile data costs 26 times more in Canada than in France, and 155 times more than in Israel.

Canadians, however, fare much better than the inhabitants of St. Helena, which takes the dubious prize for most expensive mobile data in the world. On this remote island in the southern Atlantic Ocean, you pay $53.60 a gigabyte.

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Homeowners who have to renew their mortgage in coming months may be nervous about what higher interest rates mean for their payments. Every per cent interest rates go up can add hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars a month to your bottom line.

Want help looking for the best deal? MoneyWise can help with four tips for people renewing their mortgages in 2023.

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Today’s Posthaste was written by Pamela Heaven, @pamheaven, with additional reporting from The Canadian Press, Thomson Reuters and Bloomberg.

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