Entrepreneur Statistics in Canada

Small and medium‑sized businesses play an important part in Canada and make significant contributions to the country’s economy. In Canada, small businesses employ a large share of the total workforce and are crucial for the creation of new jobs. 

What does entrepreneurship look like in today’s Canada? Continue reading as we explore entrepreneurship in Canada through statistics.

Entrepreneur Statistics for Canadians

• There are about 3.5 million entrepreneurs in Canada.
• Small and medium‑sized businesses employed around 7.9 million people in Canada as of 2023.
• About 59 % of Canadians are interested in running their own business.
• One in four new companies are started by immigrants to Canada.
• 41 % of new entrepreneurs have at least a bachelor’s degree.
• Ontario has the highest proportion of entrepreneurs, with 33 %.
• Small businesses are more likely to have financial constraints than larger businesses.
• Entrepreneurs are more likely to develop problems with mental health compared to those employed by others.
• About 90 % of Canadian entrepreneurs say they are professionally satisfied.
• Around 43 % of entrepreneurs report that accessing government funding is very difficult.
• About 67 % of aspiring entrepreneurs said they would like support with funding their business venture.

How many entrepreneurs are there in Canada?

According to Start Up Canada, there are currently around 3.5 million entrepreneurs in Canada. There were about 1.10 million employer businesses in Canada as of December 2023, of which roughly 1.07 million were small businesses and 16,966 were medium‑sized businesses. 

The pandemic slowed down the rate of new businesses opening in Canada. In 2023, the number of new business openings remained below historical pre‑pandemic levels, with business closures slightly outpacing new openings according to monthly estimates.

How many people are employed by small to medium-sized businesses?

Small businesses made up 98.1 % of all employer businesses in Canada as of December 2023 and were employing about 5.8 million people, which is about 46.5 % of the total private labour force. In addition, medium‑sized companies employed about 2.1 million workers, accounting for roughly 17.1 % of the private sector workforce. In total, the number of people employed by small and medium‑sized businesses was around 7.9 million.

In comparison, larger businesses (with 500 or more employees) employed the remainder of the private labour force.

More Canadians than before would consider becoming an entrepreneur

In a survey by BDC, a quarter of the respondents said they were interested in starting a business in the future with a further 10% saying they expected to start their business within the next two years.

The interest in entrepreneurship was the highest among millennials with 42% saying they would be interested in running their own business. The survey also found that there were more entrepreneurial aspirations in Western Canada and among men.

More millennials and people over 55 are choosing entrepreneurship

The number of Canadians aged over 55 starting their own business has increased substantially in recent decades. In 2000, there were only 1,900 new businesses started by people over 55, compared to nearly 5,900 in 2018 — a trend that continues to show older age groups participating actively in entrepreneurship.

At the other end of the workforce spectrum are millennials and Generation Z, who are also proving to lean toward entrepreneurship. In 2018, the younger generations accounted for about a third of new entrepreneurs

The number of women entrepreneurs is growing in Canada

Women are still less likely to become entrepreneurs than men. However, the trend is changing, with women now representing about 18.4 % of majority‑owned businesses in Canada, up from earlier years.

Also, in the last forty years, the number of women entrepreneurs has grown several times faster than the number of men starting a new business. Women are more likely to start a business in the service sector, with education and health services being a popular choice, followed by accommodation and food services.

Immigrants start one in four new companies in Canada.

Immigrants to Canada make up about 23 % of the population and continue to represent a disproportionate share of business ownership. About 25.5 % of private sector businesses are owned by immigrants, a share that is higher than their portion of the population.

Statistics collected by BDC also show that immigrants to Canada are creating more net jobs per business and growing their companies faster than businesses owned by people born in Canada.

More people with university degrees are choosing entrepreneurship than before

In recent years, a significant portion (41%) of entrepreneurs hold university degrees, reflecting broader trends toward higher education among business owners.

Immigrant entrepreneurs are the most likely at 57% to have at least a bachelor’s degree compared to 35% of Canadian-born entrepreneurs. 46% of women entrepreneurs have a degree compared to 40% of men.

The rise in entrepreneurs with degrees is linked to more business schools offering programs teaching skills needed to build a business.

Small businesses create new jobs in a range of industries

Most small businesses in Canada are found within five industries which are construction, retail, professional, scientific and technical services, health care and social assistance, and other services. Each of the first three sectors represents just over 12% of the total number of small businesses. Health care and social assistance businesses form 9.5% and other services 9.2% of all small businesses.

If we include medium-sized businesses, then the mix of both accounts for at least 70% of employees across all industries with agriculture (99.3%) and other services (99.0%) leading the pack according to Wagepoint.

What is the contribution of small and medium-sized companies towards GDP in Canada?

Based on the most recent available data, small businesses contributed around 35.0 % of Canada’s GDP and medium‑sized companies accounted for about 13.0 %, making the total contribution of small and medium‑sized companies approximately 48.0 % of Canada’s GDP.

Where are Canadian entrepreneurs most likely to live?

The biggest portion of entrepreneurs in Canada lives in Ontario. Ontarians represent 33% of the total number of entrepreneurs in the country. Quebec and British Columbia each have 19% of the entrepreneurs while the Prairie provinces account for 23% and Atlantic provinces for 7% of the total number.

Data collected by Wagepoint shows that despite Ontario having the largest proportion of entrepreneurs, British Columbia and Saskatchewan are the two provinces with the highest number of people employed by small businesses with 98.3% in each province.

Small business revenue

An analysis by Statistics Canada found that smaller businesses were more likely to have lower revenues in 2023 compared with 2022. About 30.5% of businesses with 1 to 19 employees reported lower revenues in 2023 compared with 2022. 

Meanwhile, 20.9% of businesses with 20 to 99 employees and 26.5% of businesses with 100 or more employees reported lower revenues in the same period. Smaller businesses were also less likely to have an optimistic future outlook: about 70.4% of businesses employing up to 19 people had a positive outlook for the next 12 months compared to 83.1% of businesses with 20 to 99 employees and 84.1% of companies with over one hundred employees.

Small businesses are more likely to have financial constraints and less likely to increase the number of employees

The same analysis found that 26.9% of small businesses with 1-19 employees could not take on more debt. 16.7% of businesses employing 20-99 people and only 6.2% of businesses with 100 or more employees reported the same constraints.

Only just over one-tenth of businesses between 1 and 19 employees were expected to increase the number of people they employed compared to 34% of businesses with over one hundred employees. However, smaller businesses were less likely to be affected by shortages in the labour force.

Top obstacles for small businesses in Canada

In 2025/2026, Statistics Canada polled businesses across Canada on the obstacles they were facing with continuing their businesses. This polling was conducted among small and large businesses, but small businesses are more likely to be affected by these factors.

In the fourth quarter of 2025, about 41.1 % of Canadian businesses expected inflation to be an obstacle over the next three months, making it the most commonly cited challenge. The next most expected obstacles were cost of inputs (26.3 %) and cost of insurance (26.2 %). Recruiting skilled employees (26.4 %) and fluctuations in consumer demand (23.4 %) were also among the obstacles expected by businesses. Surveys also showed that about 22.9 % of businesses reported that interest rates and debt costs would be an obstacle for the coming period. These figures reflect responses collected between October and November 2025 and apply to expectations going into 2026. 

How many small businesses are still running after 10 years?

Around a third of all new businesses go under within the first five years and fewer than one in two business ventures were still open after ten years. Reasons for failure include:

• being out-competed;
• lack of a proper business model;
• running out of cash;
• there is no market for their service or product;
• poor marketing; and
• ignoring customers.

High levels of stress can put entrepreneurs at risk of developing mental health issues

There is a lot of stress involved in running a business and entrepreneurs need to be masters of many trades to succeed. Many entrepreneurs take personal and financial risks when choosing to start their own business.

When entrepreneurs were asked about the main disadvantages of running a business, ¾ named dealing with financial insecurity, a lot of stress, and lack of benefits as the top three disadvantages.

A study commissioned by BDC and conducted by the Canadian Mental Health Association found that entrepreneurs were more likely to report problems with mental health compared to those in steady employment. The percentages were 21% and 8.1% respectively. The main complaints were mood and anxiety disorders. Female entrepreneurs were more at risk of experiencing poor mental health compared to their male counterparts.

Despite the high stress, entrepreneurs report being professionally satisfied

90% of Canadian entrepreneurs say they are professionally satisfied despite the challenges posed by managing a business. In a survey about satisfaction among entrepreneurs, 70% said they were satisfied professionally.

83% agreed that they enjoy running their own business, with 58% saying they agree strongly with the statement. A total of 81% said they were motivated to work on their business daily.

What entrepreneurs would like from the government?

Many entrepreneurs state that lack of financial support and accessible funding programs has been a major challenge according to Start Up Canada’s findings. Nearly 90% of businesses said they would benefit from funding and platform credits when establishing a digital presence.

The sample of entrepreneurs in the Start-Up Canada survey found that 91.8% of businesses had not been able to access funding at all or at least partially. 42.7% of new entrepreneurs mentioned that accessing government funding was very difficult. In contrast, only a tenth of the entrepreneurs said it had been easy to access government funding.

There is a growing need for support at the early stages of entrepreneurship

When entrepreneurs were asked what support would they like to grow their business, 67% of those who responded said funding. Mentorship was also a popular answer, with 56% saying they would like more mentoring on running a business.

The third area where aspiring entrepreneurs would like to receive more support was with business planning, with 48% saying this was something they needed help with.

What trends do new entrepreneurs need to look out for in the future?

The workforce is getting younger, with 50% of the working people now coming from the millennials and Generation Z age group. The workforce is also becoming more culturally diverse, with 80% of the population growth driven by newcomers to Canada by 2032.

The trend towards virtual marketplaces will continue to grow, as will the automation of business activities. The data economy will also continue to rise with 75 billion devices predicted to be connected to the internet by 2025.

Summary

Small and medium-sized businesses are vital for the health of the economy and for the creation of new jobs. Many new entrepreneurs feel there needs to be more support with funding and mentoring to launch their business ideas successfully.

Despite being a stressful option, entrepreneurs report high job satisfaction. The number of entrepreneurs is growing in Canada and so are the numbers of women and immigrant entrepreneurs.