8 stats you should know about small business in Canada

We’re still over here celebrating small businesses and all they bring to the table for the WHOLE month of October. In Canada, we have a thriving small business community full of diversity and innovative ideas. There is a lot of talk about small business in general and even more about the state of small business in the United States. We thought we’d focus on what small business looks like in Canada.

Here are 8 stats about small business in Canada you might find interesting.

As of December 2020, there were 1.2 million small businesses in Canada.

That’s a lot of small business owners leaving their mark on our economy! This can seam a bit daunting if you’re considering starting up a business when you consider competition. However, if you look at the flip side, that means that you should be able to find a group of small business owners who can support each other and work towards your goals together. #CommunityOverCompetition!

67.9% of Canadian small business startups operate for at last five years.

It’s not all doom and gloom. While the number of businesses that operate long term does go down, that doesn’t mean you can’t work towards longevity and creating your own opportunities. There will always be a certain amount of risk when you start a business. It’s not for those that are risk averse, however there are things you can do to protect yourself.

Women who own small businesses in Canada make 58% less than men who own small businesses.

This one stings. Personally, I have spoken to potential customers who will only speak to male colleagues in the room rather than speak to me – even as the owner of the business! While that’s frustrating, it has only made me more determined to both find my community of support, but also fight for the next wave of woman-owned businesses.

The government of Canada has pledged nearly $5-billion through the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (WES).

The goal is to increase access to the resources and expertise needed to start up and scale up businesses. This initiative got a lot of buzz when it was announced – no surprise there! It will be interesting to see how the programming rolls out and what kind of impact it will make on the future small business landscape in Canada.

Ontario and Quebec are home to over 690,000 small businesses – more than half of small businesses in Canada.

Be prepared for a healthy amount of competition. You can either shy away from it or allow it to make your business even better.

88.3% of Canada’s working individuals are employed by Small and medium sized businesses in Canada.

Every team looks different, but this number just shows that small businesses are a superpower and they deserve every resource available to them!

Almost two-thirds of Canada’s total labour force was employed by small businesses alone in 2021 – that’s 10.3 million people.

#SlowClap

86% of small business owners are optimistic about the future.

Despite dealing with a pandemic and other major economic issues in Canada, 86% of small business owners are optimistic about the future. We’re a resilient (or stubborn) bunch of people. You need to be hopeful about the future, but you also need to realize that you create your own opportunities through great strategy and planning.

Did you know that we created our Small Business Packages in response to some of the biggest challenges we hear from small business owners on a regular basis? Check them out here!