Credit Conditions Survey - 2015

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The Credit Conditions Survey was conducted between January and March of 2016. The questions were fact-based and focused on financing sought by small enterprises (1 to 99 employees) during the 2015 calendar year.

A total of 2,090 small businesses completed the questionnaire, which included 24 questions. This is the second largest Canadian survey on small business financing. The margin of error is 2.1% for questions addressed to all respondents. R.A. Malatest & Associates administered the survey for Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada.

The following tables present the key statistics from this survey.

Table 1: Request Rates, Approval Rates and Average Amounts Authorized, 2015
Type of FinancingRequest RateApproval Rate*Average Amount AuthorizedAmount authorized-to-requested ratio
* A request that received either full approval or partial approval was considered "approved".
Debt Financing2388$350,00090
Leasing894-93
Equity Financing2---
Trade Credit6---
Table 2: Debt Financing (Long Term versus Short Term), 2015
Type of DebtRequest RateApproval Rate*Average Interest Rate% Collateral RequiredAverage Amount AuthorizedAmount authorized-to-requested ratio
* A request that received either full approval or partial approval was considered "approved".
** Non-residential mortgages and term loans
*** Business lines of credit and credit cards
Long Term**11895.092$530,00090
Short Term***17845.378$260,00088
Overall23885.182$350,00090
Table 3: Debt Financing By Enterprise Characteristics, 2015
Enterprise CharacteristicsRequest RateApproval Rate*Average Amount AuthorizedAmount authorized-to-requested ratio
* A request that received either full approval or partial approval was considered "approved".
** A firm that developed or introduced a product, process, organizational or marketing innovation in the 2015 calendar year was considered an "innovator".
Number of Employees
1 to 4 employees2183$90,00088
5 to 9 employees2189$480,00088
10 to 19 employees2589$680,00093
20 to 99 employees3397$550,00097
Region
Atlantic2194$110,00096
Quebec2886$440,00088
Ontario1989$280,00091
Manitoba-Saskatchewan2497$230,00089
Alberta2681$390,00090
British Columbia & Territories2291$440,00094
Industry
Accommodation and Food1679$140,00082
Construction2396$160,00094
Manufacturing2483$270,00090
Agriculture and Fishing, Forestry, and Oil and Mining2485$780,00098
Professional Services2393$180,00097
Transportation/Warehousing2689$150,00092
Retail and Wholesale2485$240,00082
Age of Business
3 years old or younger3176$260,00081
4 to 10 years old2684$370,00091
More than 10 years old2191$360,00092
Exporting Activities
Exporter2790$220,00089
Non-exporter2387$360,00091
Innovation
Product3084$350,00086
Process3285$200,00085
Organizational3687$390,00086
Marketing2981$190,00085
Innovator**2985$340,00088
Non-innovator1793$370,00095
Gender of Majority Owner
Male2488$420,00089
Female2087$130,00096
Jointly Owned2195$270,00090
Education Level of Majority Owner
Less than high school2788$240,00093
High school diploma2188$650,00089
College/Cegep/Trade school diploma2788$300,00091
Bachelor Degree2185$240,00088
Masters Degree or above2291$340,00094
Experience Level of Majority Owner
< 5 years3484$60,00095
5 to 10 years2688$220,00089
> 10 years2388$410,00090
Age of Majority Owner
Younger than 40 years old2582$150,00088
40 to 49 years old2689$380,00092
50 to 64 years old2190$340,00091
65 years old or older1987$700,00089
Table 4: Main Reason for Not Seeking Financing, 2015
Reason%
Financing not needed89
Unaware of financing sources2
Thought request would be turned down3
Applying for financing too difficult2
Cost of financing too high2
Other reason2
Table 5: Main Intended Use of Debt Financing, 2015
Intended Use%
Fixed asset45
Working/Operating capital41
Research and development2
Debt consolidations6
Enter a new market3
Other use3
Table 6: Sale Destinations, 2015
Destination%
Local municipality or region80
Rest of province/territory13
Rest of Canada4
Rest of the world3