Business Ownership & Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship has gotten harder in Canada. Without new businesses and new ventures, Canada’s economy will be less productive and less resilient. These indicators track whether businesses are starting, growing and succeeding.

Canada’s economy is consolidating and Canadian banks don’t lend to entrepreneurs at nearly the same rate as our peers. With housing so expensive, economic insecurity increasing and high barriers to entering and disrupting markets, it is not surprising that fewer Canadians are willing to take the risk of entrepreneurship. As a result, there are 100,000 fewer entrepreneurs in Canada today than there were 20 years ago, despite the population growing by almost 10 million over that period. (Source: BDC).

Since COVID, business failures have been steadily rising. They are now much higher than they were at any time during the last 15 years. This is a sign of economic stress and a loss of wealth and security for many small business owners. Although some business failures were delayed due to government support during COVID, the rate of insolvencies today is significantly higher than expected, even if there was some “catch-up.” (Source: Alberta Central, data representative of all of Canada).