Financing

  • Financing research reports

    These reports identify access to financing issues and pose future research questions that need to be adresses. The information for these profiles is drawn from national surveys administered by Statistics Canada on small and medium-sized enterprises (Survey on Financing of Small and Medium Enterprises) and financial providers (Survey of Suppliers of Business Financing). Industry Canada supplements these surveys with additional research into niche areas of SME financing.

  • Surveys and data tables

    Statistics Canada administers two key surveys that measure the demand for and supply of financing for SMEs: Survey on Financing of Small and Medium Enterprises (demand) and Survey of Suppliers of Business Financing (Supply side). Occasionally, Industry Canada has conducted supplementary surveys to measure changing conditions in the marketplace, such as the Credit Conditions Surveys.

  • Financing Statistics

    These are special editions of the Key Small Business Statistics. It responds to some of the most commonly asked questions related to the state of SME financing in Canada (request rates, approval rates, amounts requested, amounts authorized, amounts outstanding by suppliers, loss rates, etc.). The report analyzes all types of financing (debt, leasing, risk capital) by sector, size of business, region and stage of business development. It is a key resource document for stakeholders and academics on financing activity of SMEs.

  • Venture Capital Monitor

    This is a quarterly publication on the venture capital (VC) industry in Canada. The goal of this series is to provide current information about this key enabling industry. To this end, the series will track trends in investment activity, report on topical VC-related research and look at key technology clusters where VC investment is taking place.

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

 
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