Ontario routes every bankruptcy filing to one of just five courthouses, and a 2026 change moved Thunder Bay and Kenora filings to Sudbury. Courtready’s new map turns any address into the right courthouse in one step.

Picture someone in Markham who needs to file for bankruptcy. The nearest Superior Court of Justice is a short drive away, but it will not accept the filing. In Ontario, bankruptcy and insolvency matters go to only five courthouses, and the one that serves an address depends on its municipality, not on which courthouse is closest.

Courtready’s Ontario Bankruptcy Courthouse Map settles the question in one step. Enter any Ontario address and it returns the courthouse where bankruptcy documents are filed, the municipalities that courthouse serves, and a link to file online. This article explains how Ontario’s filing geography works and what changed in 2026.

Only five Ontario courthouses handle bankruptcy

Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice sits in dozens of locations. Exactly five accept bankruptcy and insolvency filings.

The Superior Court of Justice hears bankruptcy matters under the federal Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. It does not take those filings everywhere it sits. Toronto, Hamilton, Ottawa, London, and Sudbury are the five courthouses that do. File anywhere else and the documents land in the wrong place.

This is why proximity misleads. Someone in Newmarket, Barrie, or Oshawa does not file locally; their matter belongs to Toronto. Someone in North Bay or Timmins files in Sudbury, not at the courthouse down the street.

Where you file depends on your municipality, not the nearest courthouse

Ontario assigns every municipality and district to one of the five courthouses, and the assignment does not follow distance. Neighbouring areas can route to different courthouses, and a single courthouse can serve regions hundreds of kilometres apart. The point is simple: you cannot tell where you file by looking at a map.

Halton and Peel file in Toronto, while Hamilton, Niagara, Brant, Haldimand, and Norfolk file in Hamilton. Much of Northern Ontario files in Sudbury, even communities a long way from the city. The lines are not intuitive, which is the whole problem.

Most people never walk into a courthouse to file. A Licensed Insolvency Trustee usually prepares and submits the paperwork, and Ontario lets bankruptcy court documents be filed online without attending in person. Either way, the process still has to pin down which courthouse the matter belongs to. The answer matters.

Thunder Bay and Kenora filings moved to Sudbury in 2026

The map is not fixed. As of May 1, 2026, bankruptcy matters for Thunder Bay, Kenora, and Rainy River are filed at the Sudbury courthouse, following direction from the Superior Court of Justice. Filers who once submitted documents locally in Thunder Bay or Kenora now route to Sudbury. Anyone working from an older list of filing locations risks sending documents to a courthouse that no longer accepts them.

How to find the right courthouse before you file

Confirm the courthouse before preparing documents. Enter the address in the Ontario Bankruptcy Courthouse Map to get the courthouse, the area it covers, and a link to file online. If a Licensed Insolvency Trustee is handling the file, the trustee submits the documents, but knowing the correct courthouse still helps you understand where the matter sits. When in doubt, confirm with the court before filing.

In Ontario, bankruptcy goes to one of five courthouses.