Exporting and international activities
(Special edition of Key Small Business Statistics)
This publication presents information on exports by firms size, by industry, destination, province and commodity exported. It includes a profile of SME exporters including their financing activities and perceived obstacles to growth. It also looks at SME Involvement in Global Value Chains.
This report was undertaken to document the profiles of Canadian SME exporters and to gain a better understanding of the processes of internationalization adopted by SMEs.
This report was conducted to examine the extent to which Canadian SME exporter firms face difficulty in accessing debt financing from commercial lenders compared to non-exporters.
This profile presents a profile of Canadian SMEs that exported in 2004. The profile examines the distinguishing features of SME exporters and their financing needs, and provides insight into the differences between exporters in the manufacturing and service sectors.
As part of the multi-year Growth Firms Project, the Small Business Branch investigated the job creation performance of exporters in the most recent phase of work.
This paper uses the Exporter Registry data to construct a profile of small business exporters that establishes new baseline information and provides a basis for policy development to better foster small business exports.
This paper, which is a summary of a longer document, also provides information on exports by size of firm across provinces, industry and export destination, as well as a comparison with U.S. exporting firms.
There are just over one million small businesses in Canada that have employees.
Source: Key Small Business Statistics
98 percent of businesses in Canada have fewer than 100 employees.
Source: Key Small Business Statistics
Between 2002 and 2008, 100,000 new small businesses, on average, were created in Canada each year.
Source: Key Small Business Statistics
Small businesses contribute slightly more than 30 percent to Canada's GDP.
Source: Key Small Business Statistics
Small businesses employ about 5 million individuals in Canada, or 48 percent of the total employment in the private sector.
Source: Key Small Business Statistics
Roughly 21 percent of small businesses operate in Canadian goods-producing industries; the remaining 79 percent operate in service industries.
Source: Key Small Business Statistics
About 86 percent of Canadian exporters were small businesses. In 2010, small businesses were responsible for $77 billion, or about 25 percent of Canada's total value, of exports.
Source: Key Small Business Statistics
The birth rate of Canadian firms has consistently been higher than the death rate.
Source: The State of Entrepreneurship
Just over half of Canadian businesses survive their first five years of operation.
Source: The State of Entrepreneurship
Canada's business survival rate compares favourably with other countries.
Source: The State of Entrepreneurship
Roughly 1 in 15 working Canadians owns an incorporated business.
Source: The State of Entrepreneurship
In 2007, 41 percent of all SME owners were between 30 and 49 years old.
Source: Profile of Mid-Career Entrepreneurs: Career trade-offs and income appropriation of high human capital individuals
The educational achievement of mid-career entrepreneurs is significantly higher than that of all Canadian business owners.
Source: Profile of Mid-Career Entrepreneurs: Career trade-offs and income appropriation of high human capital individuals
The two primary motivators for the decision to engage in an entrepreneurial venture at a midpoint of one's career were potential financial gain and work-life balance.
Source: Profile of Mid-Career Entrepreneurs: Career trade-offs and income appropriation of high human capital individuals
Prior industry knowledge is a major contributing factor to entrepreneurial success: 86 percent of respondents indicate that their former experience was the most significant factor in their success as an entrepreneur.
Source: Profile of Mid-Career Entrepreneurs: Career trade-offs and income appropriation of high human capital individuals
In 2011, the number of employer businesses was 1.1 million.
Source: Key Small Business Statistics
In 2010, the debt financing request rate reached 18% with an 88% approval rate.
Source: Credit Condition Survey
Close to 48 percent of survey Canadian universities and colleges funded entrepreneurship activities with short-term/project funding (1-2 year commitment).
Source: The Teaching and Practise of Entrepreneurship within Canadian Higher Education Institutions
46 percent of SMEs in Canada were owned by at least one women in 2007.
Source: Financing Profile: Women Entrepreneurs
Only 4 percent of SMEs in Canada invest more than 20 percent of total investment expenditure on R&D.
Source: Small Business Quarterly - November 2011
In 2007, 9 percent of SMEs exported goods and services.
Source: Canadian Small Business Exporters, Special Edition: Key Small Business Statistics
The likelihood of exporting increases with business size (number of employees) but export intensity (percentage of revenues derived from exporting) does not.
Source: Canadian Small Business Exporters, Special Edition: Key Small Business Statistics
SMEs in tourism industries accounted for 8% of SMEs in Canada in 2007.
Source: Financing Profile: Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in Tourism Industries
Small businesses in the private sector were affected most by the 2008-2009 recession in terms of total jobs lost but they were the first to recover their losses three quarters after the trough.
Source: Small Business Quarterly - February 2012
Time spent by SMEs in 2008 complying with key government regulations: 10.4 million hours.
Source: Analysis of Regulatory Compliance Costs: Part II – Paperwork time burden, costs of paperwork compliance and paperwork simplification
Adjusted real costs born by SMEs complying with key government regulations decreased 2.8 percent between 2005 and 2008.
Source: Analysis of Regulatory Compliance Costs: Part II – Paperwork time burden, costs of paperwork compliance and paperwork simplification
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