Why Buy Local: Key Small Business Stats

Key Small Business Statistics

Number of Businesses

• As of 2012, there were just over 1.08 million small businesses in Canada that had employees (excludes self-employed entrepreneurs and indeterminate businesses). Ninety-eight percent of businesses in Canada have 1 to 99 employees.
• Taking into account entries and exits, the net increase in the number of small businesses was almost 22,000 over the 2008–2009 period.

Employment

• As of 2012, small businesses employed over 7.7 million individuals in Canada, or 69.7 percent of the total private labour force.
• Small businesses created a little over 100,000 jobs, on average, between 2002 and 2012, accounting for almost 78 percent of all private jobs created on average.

Survival

• Survival rates for small and medium-sized enterprises in Canada decline with time. About 80 percent of enterprises that entered the marketplace in 2008 survived for one full year and 72 percent of enterprises that entered the marketplace in 2007 survived for two years.
• The number of business bankruptcies in Canada fell by 56 percent between 2000 and 2010 to about 3,200 in 2012.

Growth

• High-growth firms are present in every economic sector and are not just concentrated in knowledge-based industries. In terms of employment, the highest concentrations of high-growth firms in Canada during the 2006–2009 period were in construction (4.9 percent of all firms); business, building and other support services (4.6 percent); and professional, scientific and technical services (4.5 percent).
• Over 50 percent of firms in both the manufacturing and service-producing sectors expect to grow between one and ten percent from 2012 to 2014.

Innovation

• In 2009, small businesses accounted for 31 percent of total research and development expenditures, spending $4.8 billion.
• From 2009 to 2011, the highest percentages of small and medium-sized enterprises that innovated were found in manufacturing; knowledge-based industries; and professional, scientific and technical services.

Exports

• In 2011, only 10.4 percent of small and medium-sized businesses exported. Nonetheless, they were responsible for $150 billion, or about 41.0 percent, of Canada's total value of exports.

Contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

• As of 2008, depending on various estimates, small businesses contributed between 25 and 41 percent to Canada's GDP.

Business Owner Characteristics

• In 2011, almost 14 percent of small businesses were solely owned by females, while over 18 percent were owned in equal partnerships between male and female owners.
• In 2011, almost 50 percent of all small and medium-sized enterprise owners were between 50 and 64 years of age, and over 77 percent of business owners had more than 10 years of experience.