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Insolvency trustee Tanya Reynolds says no one is happy to walk through the doors of her Winnipeg office. The people who come in are stressed, struggling and seeking financial help for their debt.
They’re people like a young Manitoba mother of two whose partner — the household’s breadwinner — died suddenly without a life insurance policy. The couple had joint debt that the young mother hadn’t known about because her late partner had handled the family’s finances.
Or a Winnipeg couple who struggled to cover debt payments and basic living expenses after their mortgage rate jumped.
That couple “got to a point where they started to miss their credit card payments and miss their line of credit payments. Of course, with that comes a great deal of stress,” said Reynolds, a senior vice-president with MNP Ltd.
These are the types of stories Manitoba insolvency trustees hear often, she said.
And the number of people making insolvency filings in the province is growing.
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Last year, 3,949 people in Manitoba made an insolvency filing — a step taken when a person can’t meet their debt payments on time.
That’s the highest number of consumer insolvencies filed in the province in any year over at least the last decade, according to data from Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy dating back to 2016.
The number has climbed every year since 2021.
Inflation and rising interest rates are heightening financial stresses for some, says Tanya Reynolds, a licensed insolvency trustee based in Winnipeg. (White Rabbit PR)
About 78 per cent of the filings were consumer proposals — a formal agreement to pay back creditors through regular instalments over several years. The other 22 per cent were bankruptcy filings — a legal process where assets like homes and cars may be used to clear debt.
Within the first three months of this year, 1,026 consumers filed for insolvency in Manitoba, federal data shows — a 14 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2025.
Reynolds says people are struggling with rising costs, from rent and mortgage rate increases to growing grocery and gas bills, as some work to pay back debt that was built up or deferred during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Inflation and rising interest rates are heightening financial stresses for some people, said Reynolds.
“People are just really, really struggling to keep up with the increase of cost of living.”
‘Not been an easy time’
Mark Kalinowski, an Alberta-based financial educator with the Credit Counselling Society, said people have built up more and more debt, while their savings have been reduced.
“We’re seeing people are very stressed around their debt right now, and it’s not surprising — the world has been an unsettling place,” he said in an interview earlier this year.
“The cost of living has gone up dramatically, there’s all sorts of job pressure around tariffs. It’s not been an easy time to sort of endure.”
Financial setbacks like a job loss, death or illness in the family, or even a divorce can lead to accumulated debt.
Kalinowski said it might be time to seek help if money worries have you losing sleep, becoming irritable or struggling to focus.
“I think it’s really important that we remind people that they’re not alone,” he said.
“A lot of people are dealing with the same situations, but with a little bit of help, you can overcome them and get back up on your feet.”
Financial educator Mark Kalinowski says people may need to seek expert help for their debt if they find themselves losing sleep, becoming irritable or struggling to focus. (Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press)
But not everyone offering financial help has your best interest at heart, he warned.
Licensed insolvency trustees are federally regulated debt professionals. They’re the only ones who can help you make a consumer proposal or bankruptcy filing in Canada, Kalinowski said.
“We see people get scammed sometimes, and that’s heartbreaking,” he said.
‘They feel like the weight is gone’
Reynolds said the first call to a licensed insolvency trustee is often the scariest part of the process. After that, trustees can help assess their finances and lay out options to move forward.
For some, that could be as simple as tracking expenses and creating a budget that allows enough wiggle room to pay off debts. For others, the solution might be making a consumer proposal or bankruptcy filing with a trustee’s help.
Reynolds says she often sees stress whittle away after clients start tackling their financial challenges head-on.
“That’s the best comment we can receive from someone, is when they feel like the weight is gone,” she said.
The Winnipeg couple who struggled under their debt filed a consumer proposal and have been making payments for over a year, Reynolds said. They’re now planning to put money aside for an emergency fund.
The young mother of two who filed for bankruptcy has since come out the other side. She is now employed, providing for her family and managing her household’s finances, said Reynolds.
“She was a much stronger individual when she walked out through our doors for the last time.”