2019-12-10
This edition includes data on the number of businesses in Canada, private sector employment by business size, firm birth and survival rate, the share of high-growth firms, exports of goods by small and medium size enterprises and the contribution by business size to the gross domestic product.
2019-11-25
This report summarizes findings from the 2017 Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises to offer a snapshot of the financing and growth activities of co-operatives corporations in Canada.
2019-11-25
This document presents data on business lending activities gathered from the Statistics Canada Biannual Survey of Suppliers of Business Financing, the Bank of Canada Senior Loan Officer Survey and Business Outlook Survey, and the PayNet Canadian Business Lending Index.
2019-08-02
This analysis quantifies the economic impact of the Canada Small Business Financing Program (CSBFP) on Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Results indicate that the program continued to positively affect the economic growth of Canadian SMEs from 2014 to 2016.
2019-06-19
This analysis highlights the changes and developments in small business credit conditions between 2009 and 2018, and aims to facilitate understanding of credit-market trends for small businesses.
2019-06-19
The Credit Conditions Survey was conducted in 2018. The questions were fact-based and focused on financing sought by small enterprises (1 to 99 employees) during the 2018 calendar year.
2019-06-10
This study uses a cost-benefit analysis framework to estimate the net social benefit of the Canada Small Business Financing Program (CSBFP) for the fiscal years 2008–09 to 2016–17. The results suggest the CSBFP continues to provide significant net social benefits, estimated at $3.9 billion over the nine-year evaluation period, with a positive net benefit of $350 million or more in each year.
2019-03-14
This research uses a unique set of survey data on Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), linked with administrative tax data, to explore 1) whether the R&D propensity of SMEs increases with exporting and high-growth, and 2) whether the export propensity of SMEs increases with R&D and high-growth.
2019-01-31
This edition includes data on the number of businesses in Canada, private sector employment by business size, firm birth and survival rate, the share of high-growth firms, exports of goods by small and medium size enterprises and the contribution by business size to the gross domestic product.
Fast facts
There are 1.21 million SMEs in Canada that have employees.
Source: Key Small Business Statistics
98% of businesses in Canada have fewer than 100 employees.
Source: Key Small Business Statistics
Between 2015 and 2019, on average, 101,324 businesses were created every year and 90,151 disappeared.
Source: Key Small Business Statistics
Private sector SMEs employ over 10 million people in Canada.
Source: Key Small Business Statistics
21% of SMEs operate in goods-producing industries and 79% of SMEs operate in service industries.
Source: Key Small Business Statistics
SMEs were responsible for $246 billion (43%) of Canada's total value of goods exports in 2021.
Source: Key Small Business Statistics
3.4% of firms with 10 employees or more were high-growth firms in 2019.
Source: Key Small Business Statistics
SMEs contributed 50% of Canada's GDP in 2019.
Source: Key Small Business Statistics
12.1% of SMEs exported goods and services in 2020.
Source: 2020 Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises
The likelihood of exporting increases with business size.
Source: 2020 Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises
The primary decision maker of 47% of SMEs is between 50 and 64 years old.
Source: 2020 Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises
16.8% of SMEs were majority-women owned in 2020.
Source: 2020 Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises
25% of SMEs are operated by individuals with a bachelor's degree, while 15% are operated by individuals with a master's degree or above.
Source: 2020 Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises
28% of SMEs innovated between 2018 and 2020.
Source: 2020 Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises
16% of SMEs held intellectual property in 2020.
Source: 2020 Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises
82% of SMEs requested external financing in 2020.
Source: 2020 Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises
92% of the amount of debt financing requested by SMEs was authorized.
Source: 2020 Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises
2% of SMEs imported services from outside Canada.
Source: 2020 Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises