2016

 
Biannual Survey of Suppliers of Business Financing, second half 2015

Data analysis of the results, along with the data tables of the Biannual Survey of Suppliers of Business Financing, second half 2015.

Cover of the report: A Comparison of the Performance of Female-Owned and Male-Owned Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, November 2016
A Comparison of the Performance of Female-Owned and Male-Owned Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

For the first time, econometric techniques are applied to data from Statistics Canada’s Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises, 2011 and 2014, as well as administrative data from Statistics Canada’s Linkable File Environment, to examine the impact of majority gender ownership on the following measures of enterprise performance: sales per employee, profit per employee, employment, innovation, ratio of authorized to requested debt financing and interest rate on debt financing. Results from the paper show that gender affected all measures of enterprise performance in 2011, whereas only sales per employee and employment were affected in 2014.

Cover of the Credit Condition Trends 2009-2015 analysis
Small Business Credit Condition Trends 2009–2015

This analysis highlights the changes and developments in small business credit conditions between 2009 and 2015, and aims to facilitate understanding of credit-market trends for small businesses.

Cover of the Credit Condition Survey - 2015 data
Credit Conditions Survey - 2015

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

Cover of the Key Small Business Statistics - June 2016 publication
Key Small Business Statistics - June 2016

Key Small Business Statistics — June 2016 edition includes data on the number of businesses in Canada, job creation, firm births and deaths, the share of high-growth firms, firm financing, the number of firms that innovate and export, the small businesses contribution to each province's gross domestic product as well as on business owner characteristics.

Cover of the SME Profile: Co-operatives in Canada report
SME Profile: Co-operatives in Canada

This profile, for the first time in Canada, compares data on co-operatives with those of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This report specifically considers for-profit co-operatives that are SMEs. Leveraging the findings of the Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises, 2014 (SFGSME), the profile addresses various characteristics of co-operatives, such as types of financing sought, growth, exports and innovation activity. The benefit of the SFGSME is that it provides data on co-operatives whose characteristics are rarely studied in Canada.

Cover of the SME Profile: Canada Small Business Financing Program Borrowers
SME Profile: Canada Small Business Financing Program Borrowers (March 2016)

This report profiles the general characteristics of Canada Small Business Financing Program (CSBFP) borrowers, and compares them to the characteristics of non-CSBFP borrowers. These groups are compared across several characteristics, including, but not limited to gender, age, experience, industry, innovation activity, growth and financing activity.

 
Biannual Survey of Suppliers of Business Financing, first half 2015

Data analysis of the results, along with the data tables of the Biannual Survey of Suppliers of Business Financing, first half 2015.

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