FAST FACTS: Small Businesses in Canada, Ontario and Caledon

BDC, Investment Intentions of Canadian Entrepreneurs, January 2016:

• Small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) plan to invest $111 billion in 2016.
• 77% invest to support growth.
• Ontario leads in small business investment intentions – $44 billion.
• Majority of small businesses are focusing on workforce development &
  technologies.

Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada, Key Small Business Statistics, June 2016:

• Of the 1.17 million employer businesses in Canada, 1.14 million (97.9%) are
  small businesses.
• 407,175 of these small businesses are in Ontario.
  Private sector employed over 11.6 million people, of which 70.5% are employed
  by small business firms.
• The significance of small business firms in net job creation is 87.7%.
• Small businesses, defined as fewer than 50 employees, contribute 30% of GDP.
• Small business employs over 8.2 million individuals in Canada, 70.5% of the total
  private labour force.

RBC Economics, Q&A on the State of SMEs in Canada, September 2014:

• SMEs employ 8 million Canadians, representing 54% of payroll.
• Small businesses weather economic downturns best.
• SMEs weathered last recession well – largely owing to the resilience of small businesses with new start-up firms outpacing exits.

CFIB, Small Business Profile, 2015:

• 15% of Canadians are self-employed.
• Micro-enterprises (fewer than 5 people) represent 2/3 of the 1.1 million private
  sector enterprises.
• 1 in 3 people own or work in a small business.

Town of Caledon, Economic Development:

• There are 2,666 registered small businesses in Caledon with annual revenues exceeding $30,000 (December 2015).

Sources:
Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), Entrepreneurs First. Investment Intentions of Canadian Entrepreneurs: An Outlook for 2016. January 2016. Accessed via: https://www.bdc.ca/en/about/sme_research/pages/investment-intentions-canadianentrepreneurs-outlook-2016.aspx.

Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada, Small Business Branch. Key Small Business Statistics. June 2016. Accessed via: https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/061.nsf/vwapj/KSBS-PSRPE_June-Juin_2016_eng.pdf/$FILE/KSBS-PSRPE_June-Juin_2016_eng.pdf.

Royal Bank of Canada Economics Research. Q&A on the State of SMEs in Canada. September 30, 2014. Accessed via: http://www.rbc.com/economics/economicreports/pdf/other-reports/QA_SMEs.pdf.

Canadian Federation of Independent Business, Economics. Small Business Profile – A look at small business and the self-employed in Canada. 2015. Accessed via: http://www.cfib-fcei.ca/cfib-documents/rr3396.pdf.

Event Director:
Liz Shaughnessy
T: 416-508-7056
E: Liz@TheSmallBusinessSummit.ca

Media Contact:
Sheralyn Roman
T: 416-420-9415
E: Media@TheSmallBusinessSummit.ca