CANADA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Larry Ellis, Kyla Mahar, James Reid and Pavin Takhar, Miller Thomson LLP
in the debtor company’s assets, or may be appointed by the court on application by a secured creditor or other stakeholder. The BIA permits the receiver to take possession or control of all or substantially all of the inventory, accounts receivable or other property of the debtor company used in respect of the busi - ness. The BIA also contemplates the appointment of interim receivers to protect and preserve the debtor company’s assets on a temporary basis under par - ticular circumstances. Trends in insolvencies Business/commercial insolvencies saw a drop in 2025 as compared to the same period in 2024. Utilities, retail trade, and agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting recorded the most significant increases in the number of insolvencies in the 12-month period ending 30 June 2025. Accommodation and food ser - vices, other services (except public administration), and transportation and warehousing recorded the most significant decreases in the number of insolven - cies in the 12-month period ending 30 June 2025. The construction industry is on track again for the most insolvencies filed in the 12-month period ending 30 June 2025. During that period,Canadian construc - tion companies filed at least 595 bankruptcies and 211 BIA proposals, more than any other industry (Gov - ernment of Canada, “Insolvency Statistics in Canada – Second Quarter of 2025”, Table 4). Manufacturing companies are on track for the most CCAA proceed - ings again this year, with a staggering 18 proceed - ings in the first quarter of 2025 and nine proceedings in the second quarter of 2025 alone. However, this is a decrease from 2024. Other industries seeing an increase in insolvencies include retail, and transporta - tion and warehousing. Among Canada’s provinces, Ontario had the highest number of companies that filed CCAA proceedings in 2025. In the 12-month period ending 30 June 2025, there were 14 CCAA insolvency proceedings for debt - ors with head offices in Ontario, nine in Quebec, three in British Columbia and four in Alberta ( ibid , Table 10). Quebec corporations filed the largest number of BIA proposals and bankruptcies in the 12-month period ending 30 June 2025, with a total of 1,308 BIA pro -
ceedings, which included 1,093 bankruptcies and 215 BIA proposals. Ontario was the runner-up, with 509 BIA proceedings filed in the same period, which constituted 427 bankruptcies and 82 proposals ( ibid, Table 3a). Insolvency proceedings before the court In Canada, there is no independent bankruptcy court as there is in the United States. Instead, each prov - ince’s Superior Court is vested with bankruptcy and insolvency jurisdiction, pursuant to the BIA and the CCAA. Proceedings under these federal acts are administra - tively overseen by the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy (OSB), an agency of the federal govern - ment. The OSB has a number of duties, including: • licensing and regulating the insolvency profession; • supervising the administration of estates in bank - ruptcy, commercial reorganisations, consumer proposals and receiverships; • keeping a public record of BIA and CCAA filings; • recording and investigating complaints from debt - ors and creditors in respect of insolvency proceed - ings; and • mandating compliance through the maintenance and enforcement of the regulatory regimes (Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy , Government of Canada). In addition, the federal government appoints Official Receivers to undertake these statutory administrative duties in each bankruptcy jurisdiction across Canada. Under the CCAA, when an order is made on a debtor company’s initial application, the court will appoint a monitor to supervise the business and financial operations of the company (Section 11.7 (1) of the CCAA). Monitors are court officers and are subject to the supervision of the OSB. Monitors must be licensed by the OSB as licensed insolvency trustees (LITs). Under the BIA, a proposal trustee, selected by the debtor, fulfils a similar role to the monitor in CCAA pro - ceedings. The proposal trustee is also an LIT, and they oversee the debtor and advise it on the development of its cash flows and proposal. In addition to aiding in
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