For the 12-month period ended June 30, 2026, business insolvencies fell 9.7 per cent from the equivalent prior-year period, and the annual business insolvency rate declined to 1.0 per 1,000 businesses in 2025 from 1.1 in 2024. That said, Q2 2026 filings still sat 33.7 per cent above the pre-pandemic second-quarter average.
“For many businesses, demand remains too soft to support the price increases needed to fully offset higher costs,” said Craig Munro, a Licensed Insolvency Trustee and Chair of CAIRP. “When expenses rise faster than a company can adjust its pricing, those costs are absorbed through margins and working capital. The quarter-over-quarter increase in insolvencies is a reminder that, even as the longer-term trend has eased, some businesses remain under significant financial pressure.”
The sectors with the sharpest year-over-year increases in business insolvencies during Q2 2026 were Transportation and Warehousing (136 filings, up 36), Accommodation and Food Services (191 filings, up 30) and Manufacturing (112 filings, up 18).
By share of total business filings, Construction led at 16.9 per cent, followed by Accommodation and Food Services at 15.1 per cent.
The Accommodation and Food Services sector carried the highest annual insolvency rate of any economic sector in 2025, at 5.0 per 1,000 businesses, while Manufacturing came in at 4.1 — both well above the national business rate of 1.0.