Key Small Business Statistics in Canada

Small Business Branch

Key Small Business StatisticsAugust 2013

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Cat. No. Iu186-1/2013-1E-PDF ISSN 1718-3456

Aussi offert en français sous le titre Principales statistiques relatives aux petites entreprises – Août 2013.

1Key Small Business Statistics—August 2013

Table of Contents

2 Foreword

3 Highlights

Number of Businesses

5 Howdowedefineandcategorizebusinesses?

5 HowmanybusinessesarethereinCanada?

Employment

8 Howmanypeopleworkforsmallbusinesses?

10 Howmanyjobsdosmallbusinessescreate?

Survival

12 Howmanybusinessesappearanddisappeareachyear?

13 Bankruptcy statistics

14 Howlongdosmallbusinessessurvive?

Growth

15 Whatshareoffirmsarehigh-growthfirms?

Innovation

17 Howmuchdosmallbusinessesinnovate?

Exports

19 WhatisthecontributionofsmallbusinessestoCanada’sexports?

Contribution to Gross Domestic Product

21 WhatisthecontributionofsmallbusinessestoCanada’sgrossdomesticproduct?

Business Owner Characteristics

23 Howmanysmallbusinessentrepreneursarewomen?

25 Whataretheage,experienceandeducationlevelsofsmallandmedium-sizedbusinessowners?

27 ConcludingRemarks

2

Foreword

Key Small Business StatisticsisanannualpublicationthatprovidesbaselinedataonthesmallbusinesssectorinCanada.Thisnineteentheditionupdatesdatafoundinpreviouseditionsandintroducessomenewsections.

Thefollowingsectionshavebeenupdatedwithnewdata:

• HowmanybusinessesarethereinCanada?

• Howmanypeopleworkforsmallbusinesses?

• Howmanyjobsdosmallbusinessescreate?

• Howmanybusinessesappearanddisappeareachyear?

• Bankruptcy statistics

• Whatshareoffirmsarehigh-growthfirms?

• WhatisthecontributionofsmallbusinessestoCanada’sexports?

• WhatisthecontributionofsmallbusinessestoCanada’sgrossdomesticproduct?

• Howmanysmallbusinessentrepreneursarewomen?

Thefollowingsectionsarenew:

• Howmuchdosmallbusinessesinnovate?

• Whataretheage,experienceandeducationlevelsofsmallandmedium-sizedbusinessowners?

Notesondataandstatistics:

• PreviouseditionsofthispublicationfeatureddatafromStatisticsCanada’sSurvey of Employment, Payrolls and Hourssplitbyenterprisesize.Inanefforttogainconsistencythroughoutthereportandpublishemploymentdataattheestablishmentlevel,StatisticsCanada’sLabour Force Surveywaschosenasamoresuitabledatasourceforthispublication.

• Statisticsonself-employmentarenolongerpartofKey Small Business Statistics.

ThisneweditionandpreviouspublicationsareavailableontheSMEResearchandStatisticswebsiteatwww.ic.gc.ca/SMEresearch.


Highlights

Number of Businesses

• Asof2012,therewerejustover1.08millionsmallbusinessesinCanadathathademployees(excludesself-employedentrepreneursandindeterminatebusinesses). Ninety-eightpercentofbusinessesinCanadahave1to99employees.

• Takingintoaccountentriesandexits,thenetincreaseinthenumberofsmallbusinesseswasalmost22,000overthe2008–2009period.

Employment

• Asof2012,smallbusinessesemployedover7.7millionindividualsinCanada,or69.7percentofthetotalprivatelabourforce.

• Smallbusinessescreatedalittleover100,000jobs,onaverage,between2002and2012,accountingforalmost78percentofallprivatejobscreatedonaverage.

Survival

• Survivalratesforsmallandmedium-sizedenterprisesinCanadadeclinewithtime.About80percentofenterprisesthatenteredthemarketplacein2008survivedforonefullyearand72percentofenterprisesthatenteredthemarketplacein2007survivedfortwoyears.

• ThenumberofbusinessbankruptciesinCanadafellby56percentbetween2000and2010toabout3,200in2012.

Growth

• High-growthfirmsarepresentineveryeconomicsectorandarenotjustconcentratedinknowledge-basedindustries.Intermsofemployment,thehighestconcentrationsofhigh-growthfirmsinCanadaduringthe2006–2009periodwereinconstruction(4.9percentofallfirms);business,buildingandothersupportservices(4.6percent);andprofessional,scientificandtechnicalservices(4.5percent).

• Over50percentoffirmsinboththemanufacturingandservice-producingsectorsexpecttogrowbetweenoneandtenpercentfrom2012to2014.

4

Innovation

• In2009,smallbusinessesaccountedfor31percentoftotalresearchanddevelopmentexpenditures,spending$4.8billion.

• From2009to2011,thehighestpercentagesofsmallandmedium-sizedenterprisesthatinnovatedwerefoundinmanufacturing;knowledge-basedindustries;andprofessional,scientificandtechnicalservices.

Exports

• In2011,only10.4percentofsmallandmedium-sizedbusinessesexported.Nonetheless,theywereresponsiblefor$150billion,orabout41.0percent,ofCanada’stotalvalueofexports.

Contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

• Asof2008,dependingonvariousestimates,smallbusinessescontributedbetween25and41percenttoCanada’sGDP.

Business Owner Characteristics

• In2011,almost14percentofsmallbusinessesweresolelyownedbyfemales,whileover18percentwereownedinequalpartnershipsbetweenmaleandfemaleowners.

• In2011,almost50percentofallsmallandmedium-sizedenterpriseownerswerebetween50and64yearsofage,andover77percentofbusinessownershadmorethan10yearsofexperience.


How do we define and categorize businesses?

Theterm“business”referstoregisteredbusinessestablishments.Tobeincludedinoursamplepopulation,abusinessestablishmentmustmeetoneofthefollowingcriteria:haveatleastonepaidemployee(withpayrolldeductionsremittedtotheCanadaRevenueAgency(CRA)),haveannualsalesrevenuesof$30,000,orbeincorporatedandhavefiledafederalcorporateincometaxreturnatleastonceinthepreviousthreeyears.AsIndustryCanadausesadefinitionbasedonthenumberofpaidemployeesinthispublication,ouranalysisexcludestheself-employed1and“indeterminate”2 businesses.Alsoexcludedfromthesamplepopulationarebusinessesinthefollowingindustrialsectors:publicadministration,includingschoolsandhospitals;publicutilities;andnon-profitassociations.3

Thesizeofabusinessestablishmentcanbedefinedinmanyways:annualsalesorshipments,annualgrossornetrevenue,assetsornumberofemployees.Amongthesemeasures,theapproachusingthenumberofemployeestodeterminethesizeofbusinessesiswidelyusedtocategorizebusinesses.Dataforthismeasureareofteneasiesttocollectfromsurveyedbusinessesandhelptofacilitatecross-countrycomparisons.Accordingly,inthisreport,anSMEisabusinessestablishmentwith1–499paidemployees,morespecifically:

• Asmallbusinesshas1to99paidemployees.4

• Amedium-sizedbusinesshas100to499paidemployees.

• Alargebusinesshas500ormorepaidemployees.

How many businesses are there in Canada?

AsofDecember2012,therewere1,107,540employerbusinessesinCanada,asshowninTable1,ofwhich1,087,803weresmall.Smallbusinessesmakeup98.2percentofemployerbusinesses,medium-sizedbusinessesmakeup1.6percentofemployerbusinessesandlargebusinessesmakeup0.1percentofemployerbusinesses.

Approximately57percentofallemployerbusinessesinCanadaarelocatedinOntarioandQuebec.Virtuallyalltherestaredividedbetweenthewesternprovinces(36percent)andtheAtlanticprovinces(7percent).TheNorthwestTerritories,YukonandNunavutrepresentonly0.3percentofCanada’semployerbusinesses.

1. Self-employedworkersincludethosewithincorporatedandunincorporatedbusinessesthatmayormaynotusepaidhelp.2. “Indeterminate”businessesincludeself-employedandcontractworkers.3. SeealsotheexclusionsassociatedwiththetargetpopulationfromtheSurvey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium

Enterprises,2011.4. Othersub-groupingsexistamongthisgroupofenterprises.Forinstance,enterpriseshaving1to4employeesaredefinedas

micro-enterprises.

6

Table 1: Total Number of Employer Businesses by Size, and Number of Small and Medium-Sized Business Locations Relative to Provincial Population and Gross Domestic Product, December 2012

Source:StatisticsCanada,BusinessRegister,December2012;NationalIncomeandExpenditureAccounts2010;Labour Force Survey(LFS),2012.

Note: LFSworkingagepopulation(aged15yearsandabove)estimatesareavailableforprovincesonly.

Relativetotheworkingagepopulation(aged15yearsandabove),AlbertaandSaskatchewanhavemoreSMEsthantheotherprovinces,withratiosof50.3and47.8per1,000populationrespectively.PrinceEdwardIslandfollowscloselyat46.6per1,000population.OntarioandQuebechavethelowestratiosat35.2and35.6per1,000populationrespectively.

Intermsofgrossdomesticproduct(GDP)perSMEbyprovince,Nunavuthasthehighestratioat$4,224,000perlocation.(ThisisduetothelownumberofSMEsper1,000residents;therefore,itsGDPisspreadoverfewerSMEs.)

Morebroadly,thereisanegativerelationshipbetweenthenumberofSMEsper1,000inhabitantsandcontributiontoGDPperSME.AhighernumberofSMEsper1,000populationcorrespondstoalowerGDPperSME.AlbertaandSaskatchewanareexceptions,witharelativelyhighGDPperSMEaswellasahighnumberofSMEsper1,000residents.

Provinces/Territories

Employer Businesses No. of Small and Medium-Sized

Business Locations per 1,000

Population (aged 15+ years)

GDP per Employer

Business ($ thousands)Total Small

(1–99)Medium

(100–499)Large(500+)

NewfoundlandandLabrador 17,335 17,090 233 12 40.5 1,940

PrinceEdwardIsland 5,615 5,547 64 4 46.6 953

NovaScotia 29,686 29,179 468 39 38.0 1,247

NewBrunswick 24,992 24,582 386 24 40.3 1,288

Quebec 236,688 232,531 3,830 327 35.6 1,461

Ontario 389,116 381,001 7,437 678 35.2 1,682

Manitoba 35,980 35,298 622 60 37.4 1,553

Saskatchewan 38,749 38,264 457 28 47.8 1,929

Alberta 154,495 151,866 2,397 232 50.3 1,911

BritishColumbia 171,557 169,178 2,218 161 45.0 1,269

Yukon 1,568 1,549 18 1 n/a 1,696

NorthwestTerritories 1,294 1,263 29 2 n/a 3,702

Nunavut 465 455 10 0 n/a 4,224

CanadaTotal 1,107,540 1,087,803 18,169 1,568 39.0 1,591

Percentage 100.00 98.22 1.64 0.14


Ofthe1,107,540employerbusinesses,55.1percenthaveonly1to4employees(seeTable2).Ifthegroupsofemployerbusinesseswith1to9and10to19employeesareincluded,theyaccountfor87.4percentofthebusinesspopulation.Goods-producingbusinessesmakeup21.8percentofallemployerbusinesses,whereastheremainderprovideservices.Smallfirmsmakeup97.8percentofgoods-producingemployerbusinessesand98.3percentofallservice-producingemployerbusinesses.

Table 2: Number of Employer Businesses by Sector and Firm Size (Number of Employees), December 2012

Source:StatisticsCanada,BusinessRegister,December2012.Note1:Bydefinition,thegoods-producingsectorconsistsofmanufacturing;construction;andforestry,fishing,mining,

quarrying,andoilandgas.Theservice-producingsectorconsistsofwholesaleandretailtrade;accommodationandfoodservices;professional,scientificandtechnicalservices;finance,insurance,realestateandleasing;healthcareandsocialassistance;business,buildingandothersupportservices;information,cultureandrecreation;transportationandwarehousing;andotherservices.

Table3presentsthedistributionofemployerbusinessesbysizeineachindustry.Overhalfofthe1.08millionsmallbusinessesareconcentratedinfourindustries:wholesaletradeandretail(18.8percent),construction(11.7percent),professional,scientificandtechnicalservices(11.6percent)andotherservices(10.6percent).Asformedium-sizedbusinesses,thedistributionisdifferent.Almost52percentofthelatterisconcentratedinwholesaletradeandretail(22.9percent),manufacturing(17.8percent)andmanagementofcompaniesandenterprisesandothersupportservices(11percent).

Thegreatestvariationacrossindustriesoccursamongmicro-enterprises.Whilethehighestpercentagesofmicro-enterprisesarefoundintheprofessional,scientificandtechnicalservices(75.7percent),agriculture(71.9percent)andforestry,fishingandhunting(70.3percent)industries,thelowestpercentagesarefoundinaccommodationandfoodservices(27.0percent)andmanufacturing(33.9percent).

Number of Employees

Cumulative Percent ofEmployer Businesses

No. of Business Locations

Total

Goods-ProducingSector1

Service-ProducingSector1

1–4 55.1 610,178 138,526 471,652

5–9 74.9 219,771 45,958 173,813

10–19 87.4 138,031 26,905 111,126

20–49 95.6 91,026 18,491 72,535

50–99 98.2 28,797 6,686 22,111

100–199 99.4 12,619 3,322 9,297

200–499 99.9 5,550 1,576 3,974

500+ 100.0 1,568 437 1,131

GrandTotal 1,107,540 241,901 865,639

8

Table 3: Employer Businesses by Firm Size (Number of Employees) in Industrial Sector, December 2012

Source:StatisticsCanada,BusinessRegister,December2012.*Includesmanagementofcompaniesandenterprises;administrativesupport,wastemanagementandremediationservices.

How many people work for small businesses?

In2012,over7.7millionemployees,or69.7percentofthetotalprivatelabourforce,workedforsmallbusinessesand2.2millionemployees,or20.2percentofthelabourforce,workedformedium-sizedbusinesses.Intotal,SMEsemployedabout10millionindividuals,or89.9percentofemployees(Figure1).

Table4showstheshareoftotalprivateemploymentbybusinesssizeineachprovincein2012.QuebecandOntariohadthelowestshareofemployeesworkingforSMEsat87.5percentand88.5percent,respectively,whichisbelowthenationalaverage.Incontrast,PrinceEdwardIslandhadthehighestpercentageofemployeesworkingforSMEsat94.3percent,followedbyNovaScotia(94.1percent)andBritishColumbia(93.7percent).Suchvariationsarelikelyduetothestructureofprovincialeconomies.Forexample,Ontario’seconomyhasmanylargefirmsinthemanufacturingsector,whereasPrinceEdwardIsland’seconomyisstructuredaroundsmallbusinesses.

Industrial Sector (Rankedbynumberofemployerbusinesses) Total

Employer Businesses

1–4 5–9 10–19 20–49 50–99Small (1–99) 100–199 200–499

Medium (100–499)

Large (500+)

WholesaleTradeandRetail 208,489 81,481 57,859 37,535 20,646 6,749 204,270 3,140 1,012 4,152 67

Construction 128,021 77,811 26,013 13,336 7,588 2,094 126,842 807 286 1,093 86Professional,ScientificandTechnicalServices 127,612 96,547 15,134 8,347 5,022 1,475 126,525 688 327 1,015 72

OtherServices 115,655 76,052 23,577 10,297 4,273 931 115,130 345 146 491 34Finance,Insurance,RealEstateandLeasing 97,664 59,854 15,283 9,955 9,708 1,619 96,419 620 406 1,026 219HealthCareandSocialAssistance 90,078 51,008 18,125 11,443 5,967 1,988 88,531 1,056 432 1,488 59AccommodationandFoodServices 76,105 20,560 18,143 17,035 14,385 4,661 74,784 1,004 259 1,263 58ManagementofCompaniesandEnterprisesandOtherSupportServices* 64,814 35,192 12,525 7,452 5,155 2,143 62,467 1,255 736 1,991 356

TransportationandWarehousing 52,532 34,821 7,242 4,615 3,617 1,252 51,547 509 364 873 112

Manufacturing 51,613 17,478 10,427 8,556 8,001 3,638 48,100 2,113 1,115 3,228 285

Agriculture 39,328 28,296 6,236 2,896 1,425 328 39,181 115 28 143 4Information,CultureandRecreation 32,493 16,057 5,894 4,423 3,742 1,284 31,400 670 285 955 138Forestry,FishingandHunting 13,365 9,400 2,001 976 639 217 13,233 85 27 112 20Mining,Quarrying,andOilandGasExtraction 9,771 5,621 1,312 1,165 858 418 9,374 212 127 339 58

Total 1,107,540 610,178 219,771 138,031 91,026 28,797 1,087,803 12,619 5,550 18,169 1,568


Figure 1: Share of Total Private Employment by Size of Business, 2012

Source:StatisticsCanada,Labour Force Survey(LFS),2012,andcalculationsbyIndustryCanada.

Table 4: Total Private Employment by Province and Size of Business, 2012


Thedistributionofemploymentbysizeofbusinessvariesconsiderablyacrossindustries.AsshowninTable5,smallbusinessesaccountforover80percentofemploymentinfourindustries:agriculture(90.7percent),otherservices(90.6percent),accommodationandfoodservices(89.6percent)andconstruction(81.8percent).Inallindustries,atleasthalfoftheworkforceisemployedbysmallbusinesses.

Intermsofthetotalnumberofemployees,industriesthathadthelargestnumberofemployeesworkingforsmallfirmswere,inorderofmagnitude,wholesaleandretailtrade(1.84million),accommodationandfoodservices(0.91million),manufacturing(0.86million)andconstruction(0.72million).Theseindustriesaloneaccountedfor56.0percentofalljobsinsmallbusinessesinCanada.Overall,industriesinthegoods-producingsectoraccountedfor27.3percentoftotalemploymentand24.0percentofemploymentinsmallbusinesses.

10.1%

20.2%

69.7%

Large (500+)Medium (100–499)Small (1–99)

Province Small (1–99)

Medium (100–499)

Large (500+)

Total Employment SMEs

Total Employment all Firms

Employment Related to SMEs (%)

All Provinces 7,745,704 2,247,780 1,121,025 9,993,484 11,114,508 89.9

NewfoundlandandLabrador 102,982 24,535 9,921 127,518 137,439 92.8

PrinceEdwardIsland 33,079 5,534 2,353 38,613 40,966 94.3

NovaScotia 213,442 53,539 16,606 266,981 283,587 94.1

NewBrunswick 159,525 44,902 16,653 204,427 221,080 92.5

Quebec 1,684,396 521,702 315,724 2,206,098 2,521,822 87.5

Ontario 2,887,141 949,869 497,440 3,837,010 4,334,450 88.5

Manitoba 275,847 73,749 31,316 349,596 380,913 91.8

Saskatchewan 231,064 50,544 20,123 281,608 301,731 93.3

Alberta 1,053,224 262,003 118,553 1,315,227 1,433,780 91.7

BritishColumbia 1,105,002 261,403 92,334 1,366,406 1,458,740 93.7

10

Table 5: Number of Employees by Industrial Sector and Size of Business, 2012

Source:StatisticsCanada,Labour Force Survey(LFS),2012,andcalculationsbyIndustryCanada.IndustrydataareclassifiedinaccordancewiththeNorthAmericanIndustryClassificationSystem(NAICS).

*Goods-producingsector.

How many jobs do small businesses create?

Smallbusinessesaccountformorethan98percentofallfirmsinCanadaandproportionallyplayalargeroleinnetjobcreation,creating77.7percentofallprivatejobsfrom2002to2012(Figure2).Intotal,smallbusinessescreatedalittleover100,000jobseachyearonaverage.Medium-sizedandlargebusinesses,whichaccountfor1.6percentand0.1percentofallfirms,respectively,created12.5percentand9.8percentofnetnewjobsoverthesameperiod,representingabout17,000and11,800jobseachyearonaverage.

Figure 2: Percentage of Private Job Creation by Size of Business Establishment, 2002–2012


Industrial Sector (Rankedbynumberofemployeesinsmallbusinesses)

Size of Business (No. of Employees)

Total1–19 20–99Small (1–99)

Medium (100–499)

Large (500+)

WholesaleandRetailTrade 917,818 925,222 1,843,039 436,704 75,474 2,355,217

AccommodationandFoodServices 463,138 443,329 906,468 86,264 18,960 1,011,692

*Manufacturing 319,858 543,253 863,111 577,041 266,173 1,706,325

*Construction 443,833 279,265 723,098 119,812 41,390 884,300

Professional,ScientificandTechnicalServices 315,592 253,574 569,166 202,132 80,518 851,817

Finance,Insurance,RealEstateandLeasing 291,456 234,572 526,028 159,357 150,190 835,575OtherServices 382,453 122,789 505,242 41,474 10,776 557,492HealthCareandSocialAssistance 263,846 220,054 483,900 190,409 199,282 873,592

Business,BuildingandOtherSupportServices 226,818 159,714 386,532 87,121 35,489 509,142

Information,CultureandRecreation 156,723 183,889 340,612 116,326 90,787 547,725

TransportationandWarehousing 143,157 180,049 323,206 139,324 80,979 543,508

*Forestry,Fishing,Mining,Quarrying,OilandGas 76,768 88,794 165,562 81,477 70,036 317,075

*Agriculture 83,783 25,957 109,740 10,341 969 121,050PercentageinService-ProducingSector 77.38 74.39 75.97 64.91 66.23 72.75PercentageinGoods-ProducingSector 22.62 25.61 24.03 35.09 33.77 27.25All Industries 4,085,242 3,660,462 7,745,704 2,247,780 1,121,025 11,114,508PercentageofTotalEmployment 36.76 32.93 69.69 20.22 10.09 100.00

9.8%

12.5%

77.7%



Figure3displaysrelativecontributionstothenetchangeinpaidemploymentbysmall,medium-sizedandlargebusinessesfrom2002to2012.Therelativecontributionvariedbyyear,butsmallbusinessesconsistentlyoutperformedmedium-sizedandlargebusinessesintermsofemploymentgrowth.Smallbusinessjobcreationrangedfromover192,000in2002,tounder15,000jobsin2005,toalossofover93,000jobsin2009.The2008–2009recessionaffectedbusinessesofallsizes,resultinginmorejoblossesinoneyearthaninanyotheryearduringthe2002to2012period.Morethan336,000jobswerelostin2009,withmedium-sizedfirmslosingthemostjobsatalmost147,000.Since2010,over530,000jobshavebeencreatedbybusinessesofallsizes.

Figure 3: Contribution to Net Change in Private Employment by Size of Business Establishment, 2002–2012

Source:StatisticsCanada,Labour Force Survey(LFS),2012,andcalculationsbyIndustryCanada.Historicaldataarefrequentlyrevisedand,asof2000,areavailableonaNorthAmericanIndustryClassificationSystem(NAICS)basis.

Figure4showsthechangeinemploymentbybusinesssizeovertimecomparedwithlevelsinthefirstquarterof2008.Duringtherecession(Q42008toQ22009)jobswerelostinfirmsofallsizes,buteachfirmsizehasrecovereddifferently.SMEsbegantohireagaininthethirdquarterof2009.

Jobs Created (thousands)

-400 -300 -200 -100 0 100 200 300


2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

12

Figure 4: Private Employment by Size of Business, Q1 2008 to Q4 2012


Therehasbeenanupwardtrendinsmallbusinesshiringsincethethirdquarterof2009andsmallbusinessemploymenthasbeenabovepre-recessionlevelssincethebeginningofthesecondquarterof2010.Employmentinmedium-sizedbusinesseshasbeenrecoveringsteadilysincethefourthquarterof2009,reachingpre-recessionlevelsinthefourthquarterof2012.Employmentinlargefirmsalsofellduringtherecessionandrecoveredpre-recessionlevelsinthesecondquarterof2012.

How many businesses appear and disappear each year?

Thousandsofbusinessesenterandexitthemarketplacethroughouttheyear.Figure5showsthenumberofsmallbusinessesthatenteredandexitedthemarketplacein2008and2009andcomparesthegoodsandservicessectors.Duringthisperiod,over150,000newsmallbusinesseswerecreatedinCanada.Takingintoaccountexits,thenetincreaseinthenumberofsmallbusinesseswasalmost22,000.Ofthese,17,200wereintheservice-producingsectorand4,500wereinthegoods-producingsector.Lookingatthesetwoyearsseparately,in2008almost30,000smallbusinessesweregained,comparedwith8,000lostin2009.Giventheeconomicconditionsin2008–2009,thispatternofentriesandexitsisnotunexpected.

85

90

95

100

105


Q4Q3Q2Q1Q4Q3Q2Q1Q4Q3Q2Q1Q4Q3Q2Q1Q4Q3Q2Q12008 2009 2010 2011 2012

IndexQ1 2008 = 100


Figure 5: Entries and Exits of Service-Producing and Goods-Producing Small Businesses, 2008–2009

Source:StatisticsCanada,EntrepreneurshipIndicatorsDatabase,December2012.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Goods-ProducingService-ProducingGoods-ProducingService-Producing

Entries Exits

20092008

44.6

21.0

14.4

54.8

16.1 18.2

48.9

67.7

Entries and Exits (thousands)

Bankruptcy statistics

Onlyasmallproportionoffirmsexitingthemarketplaceendupfilingforbankruptcy.Onaverageoverthelast14years,therehavebeenapproximately7,000businessbankruptciesperyearinCanada.Therewereabout3,200businessbankruptciesin2012,decliningfromthepeakofmorethan10,000in2001.

MoredetailedstatisticsonbusinessbankruptciesandtheliabilitiesinvolvedareavailableontheOfficeoftheSuperintendentofBankruptcywebsiteatwww.osb.ic.gc.ca.

14

How long do small businesses survive?

Onewaytoanswerthequestionofhowlongbusinessesarelikelytosurviveistodeterminetheprobabilityofsurvivalbasedonpredictablefactors.Geographiclocation,typeofindustry,sizeandagearesomeusefulfactorsinpredictinghowlongabusinessstaysactive.Other,unforeseen,factorscanalsoaffectthesurvivalofabusiness,includinggeneraleconomicconditions,aswellasmarketinfluencessuchasthenumberandsizeofcompetitorsandnewentrants.

Survivalisdefinedasthepercentageofnewfirmsthatcontinuetooperatewhentheyreachagivenage.Thesurvivalofbusinessesreflectstheirproductivity,innovationandresourcefulness,aswellastheiradaptabilitytochangingmarketconditions.

Figure6showssurvivalratesforallCanadianSMEswith1to499employees,aswellasmicro-enterprises(1to4employees)andothersmallenterprises(5to99employees).Theratesrepresentthepercentageoffirmsthatsurviveduntil2009andwerecreatedonetotwoyearspriortothat.OfSMEsthatenteredthemarketplacein2008,80percentsurvivedforoneyear.Othersmallenterpriseshaveahigherone-yearsurvivalrate(85percent)thanmicro-enterprises(79percent).Only72percentofSMEsthatenteredthemarketplacein2007survivedfortwoyears:thelowersurvivalrateismostlyduetothemicro-enterprisesurvivalratefallingto68percent,whilethesurvivalrateforothersmallbusinessesremainedsteadyat86percent.

Figure 6: Survival Rates of all SMEs, Micro-Enterprises and Other Small Enterprises (Employer Businesses Only), 2007–2009

Source:StatisticsCanada,CentreforSpecialBusinessProjects,December2012.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Total SMEs(1–499 employees)

Other small enterprises(5–99 employees)

Micro-enterprises(1–4 employees)

1 year

2 years

68.0

71.7

78.6

85.0

86.0

80.0%


What share of firms are high-growth firms?

Firmsthatachievehighgrowthinashortperiodoftimetendtomakealargecontributionintermsofemploymentandwealthcreation.Althoughhigh-growthfirms5tendtobeassociatedwithinnovativehigh-techfirms,therealityisthattheytendtobefoundacrossallindustrialsectors.

Figure7illustratesthepercentageofhigh-growthfirmsfoundineachindustrybetween2006and2009intermsofrevenueandemploymentgrowth.Highgrowthismoreprevalentwhendefinedbyrevenuecomparedwithemployment,with4.6percentofallfirmsbeinghighgrowthintermsofrevenue,butonly3.1percentintermsofemployment.Therearehigh-growthfirmsineveryindustry.In2009,thesectorswiththehighestpercentageofhigh-growthfirmsdefinedintermsofemploymentwereconstruction(4.9percent)andbusiness,buildingandothersupportservices(4.6percent).

Figure 7: Percentage of High-Growth Firms by Industrial Sector and Definition of Growth, 2006–2009

Source:StatisticsCanada,EntrepreneurshipIndicatorsDatabase,December2012.Note:BecauseofcomparativestatisticalruleswithOECDcountries,thenumbers,referringtoindustriesinthisfigure,exclude

agriculture,forestry,fishingandhunting;mining,quarrying,andoilandgasextraction;utilities;andpublicadministration.

5. AccordingtothedefinitionoftheOrganisationforEconomicCo-operationandDevelopment,high-growthfirmsarethosewithaverageannualizedgrowthratesgreaterthan20percentperyear,overathree-yearperiod,andwith10ormoreemployeesatthebeginningoftheperiod.Theirgrowthcanberecordedintermsofrevenueoremployment(numberofemployees).SincethebreakdownbyfirmsizeisnotyetavailablefromStatisticsCanada,wehaveusedfirmsofallsizesforthissection.

4.95.7

4.94.6

5.64.5

3.93.9

4.13.7

4.83.7

3.42.8

3.22.7

2.32.2

2.22.4

2.01.8

4.63.1 %

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Based on Revenue Based on Employment

Average

Accommodation and Food Services

Health Care and Social Assistance

Other Services

Wholesale and Retail Trade

Manufacturing

Transportation and Warehousing

Information, Culture and Recreation

Finance and Insurance, Real Estate andLeasing

Professional, Scientific and TechnicalServices

Business, Building and Other SupportServices

Construction

16

Figure8showstheshareofhigh-growthfirmsinCanadaandeightothercountriesinthemanufacturingandservicessectorsin2008intermsofemployment.Inmanufacturing,Canadarankedsixth,with3.3percentofmanufacturingfirmsbeinghigh-growth,betweenhighest-rankedUnitedStates(with5.0percenthigh-growthfirms)andlowest-rankedItaly(with2.2percenthigh-growthfirms).Intheservicessector,Canadarankedeighth,with3.2percentofCanadianfirmsbeinghighgrowth,comparedwithfirst-andsecond-rankedSwedenandHungary(with5.6percentand5.4percenthigh-growthfirmsrespectively).

Figure 8: Share of High-Growth Firms (Employment Growth), International Comparisons, 2008

Source:OrganisationforEconomicCo-operationandDevelopment,Entrepreneurship at a Glance,2012.

Figure9showstheexpectedyearlyaveragegrowthinsales/revenuesforthe2012–2014periodinmanufacturingandservice-producingSMEs.Over50percentoffirmsineachsectorexpecttogrowbetweenoneandtenpercentovertheobservedperiod.Manufacturingfirmsweremoreoptimisticthanservice-producingfirmsregardingthepossibilityofhighgrowth.Nineteenpercentofmanufacturingfirmsexpecttoachieve11–20percentgrowthand9percentoffirmsexpecttoachievemorethan20percentgrowth.

0 1 2 3 4 5 6

ServicesManufacturing

United States

Hungary

Denmark (2007)

Switzerland

Sweden

Canada

New Zealand

Netherlands

Italy

%

4.9

2.23.8

2.54.2

2.82.5

3.33.2

3.45.6

3.54.0

4.0

4.35.4

5.04.3


Figure 9: Expected Yearly Average Firms’ Growth in Sales/Revenues, 2012–2014

Source:StatisticsCanada,Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises,2011.Note:Service-producingincludesinformationandculturalindustries;professional,scientificandtechnicalservices;healthcare

andsocialassistance(excludingout-patientcarecentres,medicalanddiagnosticlaboratories,otherambulatoryhealthcareservices,andgeneralmedicalandsurgicalhospitals);arts,entertainmentandrecreation;accommodationandfoodservices;andotherservices(exceptpublicadministration).

Formoreinformationonhigh-growthfirms,pleaserefertoGrowth Map of Canadian Firms, Special Edition: Key Small Business Statistics(January2010).

How much do small businesses innovate?

Inaworldwithlimitedresources,thefastestwaytoboostproductivityandeconomicgrowthistoinnovate.Innovationisoftenthoughttobesynonymouswithhightechnologyinventions,butinnovativebehaviouralsoencompassesmanyotherwaysofturningcreativeideasintoinnovations.StatisticsCanada’sSurvey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises,2011,breaksdowninnovationintofourcategories:product,process,organizationalandmarketinginnovations.Resultsrevealthatfrom2009to2011,38percentofsmallbusinessesand56percentofmedium-sizedbusinessesmadeatleastoneofthesetypesofinnovations.

Theavailabilityofresourcestospendonresearchanddevelopment(R&D)istiedtothesizeofbusinesses.Largebusinessesaccountforfewerthan0.2percentofallemployerbusinesses,butaccountedforover50percentofallR&Dexpendituresin2009(Figure10).Smallbusinessesmakeup98percentofallemployerbusinesses,ontheotherhand,butaccountedforonly31percentoftotalR&Dexpenditures.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Manufacturing SMEsService-producing SMEs

More than 20%11–20%1%–10%0%Less than 0%

6.9 5.0

18.3 17.0

53.7 52.0

13.7

19.0

7.4 9.0

%

Growth

18

Figure 10: Percentage of Total Expenditures on R&D by Firm Size, 2009

Source:StatisticsCanada,Industrial Research and Development: Intentions,2012,andcalculationsbyIndustryCanada.

Figure11showsthepercentageofSMEsbyindustrythathaveinnovatedwithinthelastthreeyears.Themanufacturingindustryhadthehighestpercentageoffirmsinnovating(58.1percent)andtransportationandwarehousingthelowestpercentageoffirmsinnovating(27.5percent).Otherindustrieswithhighpercentagesoffirmsinnovatingincludedknowledge-basedindustries(50.0percent);professional,scientificandtechnicalservices(43.5percent);andwholesaleandretailtrade(41.1percent).

Figure 11: Percentage of SMEs Innovating within the Last Three Years by Industrial Sector, 2011

Source:StatisticsCanada,Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises,2011,andcalculationsbyIndustryCanada.

18% ($2.8B)

51% ($7.7B) 31% ($4.8B)


0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

ManufacturingKnowledge-BasedIndustries

Professional,Scientific and

TechnicalServices

Wholesaleand

Retail Trade

Accommodationand

Food Services

ConstructionAgriculture/Primary

Transportationand

Warehousing

%

27.5 27.8 28.0

39.4 41.143.5

50.0

58.1


What is the contribution of small businesses to Canada’s exports?

ExportingisvitaltoCanada’seconomy.Itisadriverofeconomicgrowthandisstronglycorrelatedwithrealgrossdomesticproduct(GDP)growth.Furthermore,exportingcanprovideastrategicallyimportantmeansofgrowingafirmbyexpandingitsmarketbeyondtheconfinesofCanada’srelativelysmalldomesticmarket.Canada’scontinuedcommitmenttoestablishingtradeagreementsreflectsthisimportance.

In2011,Canadianenterprisesofallsizesexportedgoodswithatotalvalueofapproximately$374billion,ofwhich$191billionwererelatedtomanufacturing.6Thisrepresentsanincreaseofabout$48billion(15percent)from2010.Thesharesbyfirmsizewere23.9percentforsmallbusinesses,16.2percentformedium-sizedbusinessesand59.9percentforlargebusinessesrespectively.

Exportshaveaccountedforcloseto30percentofGDPinrecentyears,downfrom34percentpriorto2008.7Whilethevalueofexportshasnotreachedpre-recessionlevels,itincreasedin2010and2011.

In2011,about90percentofCanadianexportersweresmallbusinesses,comparedwith85percentin2008and87percentin1999.8Itisimportanttonotethat,althoughabout90percentofexportersaresmallbusinesses,only10.2percentofthesesmallbusinessesexportedgoodsorservicesin2011,whilemedium-sizedbusinessesaccountedfor34.4percent(Figure12).Intotal,10.4percentofSMEswereexportersthatyear.

Figure 12: Proportion of SMEs that Exported in 2011


6. StatisticsCanada,ExporterRegister,2010and2011.

7. StatisticsCanada,NationalGrossDomesticProductbyIncomeandbyExpenditureAccounts,2012.

8. StatisticsCanada,Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises,2011.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Did not exportDid export

Medium (100–499)Small (1–99)

10.2

%

89.8

34.4

65.6

20

Intermsofdestinationsin2011,CanadianSMEsdisproportionallyexportedtotheUnitedStates(89.3percent)andEurope(32.1percent)(Table6).Whilethesetworegionsfigureprominently,exportsofCanadianSMEsareremarkablydiversifiedacrossdestinations.Indeed,Asia,includingChina,andLatinAmericawerenoticeableexportdestinations,receiving21.1percentand11.9percentofexportsrespectively.Thisdiversificationismoreimportantforthesmallbusinesseswith20to99employeesaswellasforthemedium-sizedbusinesses,particularlyforAsianandLatinAmericandestinations.

Table 6: Export Destinations by Business Size, 2011


Table7showstheprominenceoftheUnitedStatesasadestinationmarketforallindustrysectors,particularlytheaccommodationandfoodservices(97.9percent);healthcare,informationandarts(97.3percent);andtransportationandwarehousing(96.6percent)sectors.ExportdestinationsinEuropearealsomoreimportant,especiallyforthehealthcare,informationandartssector(64.9percent).Whilemanufacturing(23.5percent)leadsthewayinexportstoLatinAmerica,exportsfromagriculture,forestryandotherresource-basedindustries(25.0percent)andthewholesaletradesector(19.0percent)aremoresignificantinotherAsiandestinations.

Business Size (No. of Employees)

United States Europe Latin America China Other Asia Others

Percentage

AllSMEs 89.3 32.1 11.9 9.5 11.6 15.4

1–4 87.2 28.9 9.1 7.4 11.4 14.3

5–19 89.6 35.5 9.6 11.2 7.9 15.9

20–99 92.2 32.2 20.3 8.8 16.9 17.4

100–499 94.8 30.7 21.7 19.2 26.4 10.0


Table 7: Export Destinations of SMEs by Industrial Sector, 2011


Note:“X”denotesdatathatweredeemedconfidentialbyStatisticsCanadabecauseofthelownumberofobservations.

Formoreinformationonsmallbusinessexports,pleaserefertoCanadian Small Business Exporters, Special Edition: Key Small Business Statistics(June2011).

What is the contribution of small businesses to Canada’s gross domestic product?

Grossdomesticproduct(GDP)isakeymeasureofeconomicproductionthatcanbeusedtocompareanytwoindustries’valueadded,i.e.,thevaluethatanindustry,throughitsactivities,addstoitsinputs.ThemainadvantageoftheGDPconceptisthatitavoidsdoublecounting;hence,itisconsideredsuperioringaugingeconomicperformanceover,forexample,revenue,businesscountsorevenemployment.Althoughthestudiesbelowexpandthescopeofthedefinitionofsmallbusinesstoincludebusinesseswithnopaidemployees,theself-employedandindeterminatebusinesses,thesearetheonlystudiesavailablethatmeasurethecontributionofsmallbusinessestoGDP.DuetothedifferentapproachestomeasuringGDP,estimatesvarygreatly.

TheGovernmentofBritishColumbia’sStatisticalService(BCStats)hasdevelopedamethodtodeterminethesmallbusinesscontributiontoGDPbyprovinceusingtheincome-basedapproachoftheSystemofNationalAccounts.9Table8showssmallbusinesses’contributiontoGDP(includingpublicandprivatesectors)forCanadaandeachprovincefrom2002to2011.

9. AbackgroundnotedescribingthemethodingreaterdetailisavailableuponrequestbycontactingtheSmallBusinessBranchofIndustryCanadaatsmers-rspme@ic.gc.ca.

Industrial SectorUnited States Europe Latin America China Other Asia Others

Percentage

Agriculture,Forestry,FishingandHunting;MiningandOilandGasExtraction 75.4 10.4 7.6 16.7 25.0 7.3

Construction 95.6 x x x x 0.0

Manufacturing 91.6 33.9 23.5 9.4 13.5 14.4

WholesaleTrade 86.4 33.3 13.6 14.9 19.0 24.9

RetailTrade 84.9 27.8 x x x x

TransportationandWarehousing 96.6 17.0 10.1 10.1 13.6 14.1

Professional,ScientificandTechnicalServices 82.9 29.7 5.3 9.1 13.8 10.4

AccommodationandFoodServices 97.9 x x 0.0 x x

OtherServices 94.4 x x x x x

HealthCareandSocialAssistance;InformationandCulturalIndustries;Arts,EntertainmentandRecreation 97.3 64.9 11.6 4.5 x 33.6

22

Table 8: Small Businesses’ Contribution to GDP by Province, 2002 to 20111, 2

Source:BritishColumbia’sStatisticalService,Small Business Profile 2012: British Columbia.Note1:Inthesedata,smallbusinessescomprisebusinesseswithfewerthan50employees,plusthoseoperatedbytheself-

employedwithnopaidemployees.Note2:DifferencesbetweenthesedataandthosepublishedinpreviousversionsofKey Small Business Statisticsreflectchanges

totheunderlyingdataonwhichthenumbersarebased,aswellasarefinementofthemethodologyusedtogenerate theestimates.

BCStats’definitionofsmallbusinessisrestrictedtobusinesseswithfewerthan50employees,plusthoseoperatedbytheself-employedwithnopaidemployees.Bythisdefinition,itisestimatedthat,in2011,smallbusinessesaccountedforapproximately27percentofCanada’sGDP.Thislevelofcontributionhasremainedconsistentoverthepastdecade.ThecontributiontoGDPrangesfromalowof20percentinNewfoundlandandLabradortoahighof32percentinSaskatchewanandPrinceEdwardIsland.ThelargestincreaseinthecontributiontoGDPoccurredinSaskatchewan,whereitwas26percentin2002and32percentin2011.ThecontributiontoGDPdecreasedmostinNovaScotiaandNewBrunswick,whereitfell3percentovertheperiod.

Inarecentstudy,StatisticsCanadafoundthat,in2008,smallbusinesses(heredefinedasthosewith1to99employees)accountedforabout41percentofprivatesectorGDP.Incontrast,largebusinessesaccountedforthemost,with48percentofGDP,andmedium-sizedbusinessestheleast,with11percentofGDP.Ofthetotaleconomy,smallbusinessesintheprivatesectoraccountedforabout30percentofGDP,whilemedium-sizedandlargefirmsaccountedfor9and36percentofGDPrespectively.Thepublicsectoraccountsfortheremaining25percent.10

10.StatisticsCanada,The Growth of Large Firms in Canada,2008,andcalculationsbyIndustryCanada.

ProvinceContribution to GDP (Percent)

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

NewfoundlandandLabrador 19 18 21 19 19 18 18 20 19 20

PrinceEdwardIsland 32 29 31 30 30 29 29 29 26 32

NovaScotia 26 25 26 25 25 26 25 25 24 23

NewBrunswick 25 23 25 25 24 25 25 24 23 22

Quebec 27 27 29 30 30 30 31 30 28 27

Ontario 24 23 24 25 26 26 27 26 25 25

Manitoba 23 24 25 25 26 26 26 26 24 24

Saskatchewan 26 24 29 29 30 32 33 35 30 32

Alberta 28 26 26 27 29 31 31 29 27 27

BritishColumbia 28 29 33 33 33 34 34 32 30 29

Canada 26 25 27 28 28 29 29 28 27 27


Figure13comparestheshareofGDPbysizeofbusinessacrossdifferentindustriesin2008.SmallbusinessGDPcontributionswerehighestfromagriculture(92.8percent),health(82.4percent),otherservices(81.0percent)andeducation(79.1percent).Incontrast,smallbusinessescontributedfarlesstotheGDPfromutilities(2.6percent),mining(8.6percent),information(10.3percent)andmanufacturing(25.5percent).

Figure 13: Share of GDP within Industries by Size of Business Establishment, 2008

Source:StatisticsCanada,The Growth of Large Firms in Canada,2008,andcalculationsbyIndustryCanada.

How many small business entrepreneurs are women?

StatisticsCanada’sSurvey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises,2011,distinguishesfivetypesofbusinessownershipbasedongender:female-onlyownership,majorityfemale,equalpartnershipbetweenmaleandfemaleowners,minorityfemaleandnofemaleownership.

Businesseswithequalpartnershipsbetweenmaleandfemaleownersaccountedfor18.2percentofemployersmallbusinesses,while13.5percentweresolelyownedbyfemalesand53.8percentweresolelyownedbymales(Figure14).Ownershipratiosweredifferentformedium-sizedbusinesses.Female-onlyownershipaccountedfor4.0percentofallmedium-sizedbusinessesandmale-onlyownershipaccountedfor66.0percentofallmedium-sizedbusinesses.Thisindicatesthatwomenaremorelikelytoownsmallbusinessesthanmedium-sizedbusinesses.

0 20 40 60 80 100%


Utilities

Mining

Information

Manufacturing

Transportation

Arts and Entertainment

Wholesale

Administrative

Finance

Retail

Professional

Accommodation and Food Services

Construction

Education

Other Services

Health

Agriculture

15.5

3.53.792.8

82.4

81.0

79.1

72.7

61.5

57.4

46.3

44.8

44.2

40.0

39.6

33.5

10.3

8.6

4.82.6 92.6

82.9

82.1

56.2

53.8

49.9

42.2

40.3

48.3

43.9

23.0

14.1

10.9

11.0

10.8

29.9

25.5

6.8

7.9

10.1

13.2

12.7

9.7

6.9

15.6

17.8

10.4

12.7

18.3

7.6

8.5

24

Figure 14: Business Ownership Gender Distribution by Enterprise Size, 2011


AccommodationandfoodservicesindustrieshavethehighestshareofSMEsthataresolelyownedbyfemales,at22.3percent,whereasSMEsinconstructionhavethelowestshare,atonly2.9percent(Figure15).Intheindustryaggregatetotal,atleast50percentofownershipisheldbyfemalesin31percentofSMEs.

Figure 15: Business Ownership Distribution by Gender and Industrial Sector, 2011


0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Medium (100–499)Small (1–99)

Female-OnlyOwnership

Majority FemaleEqual PartnershipMajority MaleMale-OnlyOwnership

%

53.8

66.0

12.416.6 18.2

9.9

2.1 3.5

13.5

4.0

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Male-OnlyOwnership

MajorityMale

EqualPartnership

MajorityFemale

Female-OnlyOwnership

Accommodation andFood Services

Wholesale and Retail Trade

Transportation andWarehousing

Manufacturing

Agriculture/Primary

Construction

Industry Aggregate Total

%

18.5

10.8

13.0

2.0

55.8

2.92.2

16.811.5

66.73.3

1.623.923.9

47.4

1.9

1.8

1.5

3.1

12.6

12.2

14.1

7.7

4.6

7.1

20.1

17.1

18.7

17.4

22.3

16.2

59.3

61.8

49.8

50.8


What are the age, experience and education levels of small and medium-sized business owners?

Overthe2004to2011period,therewasanincreaseintheageandnumberofyearsofexperienceofCanadianSMEowners.Figure16showstheageofSMEownersin2004,2007and2011.Since2004,thepercentageofownersundertheageof49yearshasdecreased.Thepercentageofownersbetween50and64yearsofage,ontheotherhand,hasincreasedtothepointthatthisagegroupnowrepresentsalmost50percentofbusinessowners.

Figure 16: Percentage of SME Owners by Age, 2004, 2007 and 2011

Source:StatisticsCanada,Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises,2011;Survey on Financing of Small and Medium Enterprises,2004and2007;andcalculationsbyIndustryCanada.

Thesametrendisoccurringwithrespecttothenumberofyearsofexperience.AsshowninFigure17,enterpriseowners’yearsofexperiencehaveincreasedfrom2004to2011,with77percentofownershavingovertenyearsofexperiencein2011,comparedwith69percentin2004.Incontrast,thepercentageofbusinessownerswithlessthanfiveyearsofexperiencefellfrom12percentin2004to5percentin2011.

Educationlevelsofbusinessownersvaryfromlessthanahighschooldiplomatoamaster’sdegreeorabove.Figure18showsthehighestlevelofeducationattainedbySMEownersin2011.Medium-sizedbusinessownersweremorelikelytohaveatleastabachelor’sdegreeorabove,accountingfor60percentofallmedium-sizedbusinessowners.Incomparison,themajorityofsmallbusinessownershadacollege,CEGEPortradeschooleducation.ThedataindicatethatlargerSMEsaremorelikelytobeownedbyindividualswithhigherlevelsofeducation.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

201120072004

65+50–6440–4930–39<30Age (years)

%

2.9 2.8 1.6

15.3

10.612.1

35.137.0

44.6

9.6 11.3

28.0 28.2

48.4

12.6

26

Figure 17: Percentage of SME Owners by Number of Years of Experience, 2004, 2007 and 2011

Source:StatisticsCanada,Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises,2011;Survey on Financing of Small and Medium Enterprises,2004and2007;andcalculationsbyIndustryCanada.

Figure 18: Highest Level of Education Attained by SME Owners, 2011


0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

201120072004

10+5–10<5

Years of Experience

%

18.4

8.45.0

12.4

20.2

69.3 71.377.2

17.8

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Medium (100–499)Small (1–99)

Master's Degreeor Above

Bachelor's DegreeCollege,CEGEP or

Trade School

High SchoolDiploma

Less than HighSchool Diploma

%

9.6

5.1

23.9

14.6

32.2

20.221.7

39.4

12.7

20.7


Concluding Remarks

ThiseditionofKey Small Business StatisticshaspresentedkeyinformationonthestateofSMEsinCanada,suchasthepopulationofSMEs,theirdistribution,theirgrowthperformanceanddetailsonthecharacteristicsofbusinessowners.Moreimportantly,thisinformationhasshedlightnotonlyonthesimilaritiesanddifferencesthatcharacterizeSMEsbutalsoontheimportanceofSMEsintheCanadianeconomy.

Data & Analytics

Key Small Business Statistics in Canada