Alberta leads country in bankruptcies

A sharp increase in bankruptcy filings across the country, especially in Alberta last year, has raised concern about the debt level of Canadians.

There is plenty of worry that when interest rates rise, which they are expected to later this year, even more people will declare insolvency.

Bankruptcy trustee Douglas Hoyes uses the term 'ticking time bomb' when he talks about household debt in Canada.

Hoyes says when the Bank of Canada starts to boost interest rates, more consumers and businesses will be filing bankruptcy.

He tells 660News, the recession was especially hard on Alberta, where insolvency claims shot up a whopping 60 per cent last year.

"Of all the provinces, Alberta had the biggest increase in bankruptcies last year."

Hoyes says the average Canadian is now 141 dollars in debt for every 100 dollars in income.   That's the highest level ever in Canadian history.

He says you don't have to be a math wizard to figure out you can't keep living like that.