Home : Reports and Publications : Economic Research and Market Studies : A Portrait of Small Business Growth and Employment in Western Canada
Highlights
The number of small businesses in Western Canada per thousand population is 40% higher than in the rest of the country.
Enterprises with less than 5 employees account for 80% of all business entities.
During the 1990’s, the number of small businesses in Western Canada grew by 26,000 annually.
In the West, about 32% of small businesses produce goods and 68% produce services. This is significantly different from the 20% goods and 80% services shares in the rest of the country.
Self-employment is a larger share of total employment in Western Canada than in other parts of the country.
Small business births per member of the labour force are 42% higher than in other parts of the country.
Small business numbers per member of the labour force size are highest in the more rural regions of Western Canada.
The highest per capita density of high tech small business is in the Calgary economic region followed by the Edmonton, Wood Buffalo/Cold Lake, Red Deer, Vancouver/Lower Mainland, and Banff/Jasper/Rocky Mountain House regions.
One half of the numbers of self-employed men and women in Western Canada possess either a university degree or a post-secondary diploma.
There are two self-employed men for every self-employed woman but the number of self-employed women is growing at twice the rate of men.
Small business entities and small business jobs are growing most rapidly in the service sector.
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Portrait-e.pdf (approx. 20 MB)