2018

Cover of the report: SME Profile: Canadian Start-Ups — A perspective based upon the 2014 Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises (September 2018)
Canadian Start-Ups — A perspective based upon the 2014 Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises (September 2018)
2018-09-26

The report profiles Canadian start-ups by examining owner characteristics, access to financing, exporting, innovation and sales growth. It also compares the distinguishing features between start-ups and non-start-ups. The quantitative analysis is based upon the Statistics Canada's 2014 Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises.

Cover of the report: Biannual Survey of Suppliers of Business Financing—Data analysis, first half 2017 (July 2018)
Biannual Survey of Suppliers of Business Financing—Data analysis, first half 2017 (July 2018)
2018-07-16

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.

Cover of the report: Canadian New Firms: Birth and Survival Rates over the Period 2002–2014 (May 2018)
Canadian New Firms: Birth and Survival Rates over the Period 2002–2014 (May 2018)
2018-06-01

This report studies the characteristics and performance of newly established Canadian firms – including new firms birth rates, survival rates and employment levels – at their year of entry into the Canadian economy and for up to ten subsequent years. The study was based on 13 cohorts of new firms – one cohort for each year between 2002 and 2014.

Cover of the report: Co-operatives in Canada - 2013
Co-operatives in Canada – 2013
2018-04-06

This report is an annual publication that provides baseline data on the co-operative sector in Canada. The Government of Canada has been collecting and publishing this data since the 1930s. The 2013 publication is the 80th edition and has been prepared by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada's Co-operatives Policy Unit. You can find the prior years' reports at https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/693.nsf/eng/h_00037.html

Incrementality Study of the Canada Small Business Financing Program, March 2018
Incrementality Study of the Canada Small Business Financing Program (March 2018)

The purpose of this report is to present the estimated level of incrementality of the Canada Small Business Financing Program using data from the Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium enterprises, 2014.

Fast facts

In 2022, there are 1.22 million SMEs in Canada that have employees.
Source: Key Small Business Statistics

97.8% of businesses in Canada have fewer than 100 employees.
Source: Key Small Business Statistics

Between 2016 and 2020, on average, 101,921 businesses were created every year and 96,548  disappeared.
Source: Key Small Business Statistics

In 2022, private sector SMEs employ around 8 million people in Canada.
Source: Key Small Business Statistics

22% of SMEs operate in goods-producing industries and 78% of SMEs operate in service industries.
Source: Key Small Business Statistics

SMEs were responsible for $293 billion (40.8%) of Canada's total value of goods exports in 2022.
Source: Key Small Business Statistics

2.6% of firms with 10 employees or more were high-growth firms in 2020.
Source: Key Small Business Statistics

SMEs contributed 49% of Canada's GDP in 2020.
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