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A Profile of Small and Medium-Sized Exporters (SMXs)
in British Columbia - 2002
Interprovincial Comparisons
British Columbia's 4,548 SMXs comprise approximately 15% of all SMXs in Canada, ranking the province third in the country.4 Not surprisingly, the provinces are ranked roughly according to population size in terms of the proportion of SMXs located there. However, for British Columbia and particularly Ontario (including the three Territories), the percentage of SMXs is larger than the percentage of population, while for most other provinces the reverse is true. Ontario plus the Territories contains just over 38% of the country's population, but have 45% of SMXs, while British Columbia has around 13% of the population with 15% of SMXs.
Distribution of SMXs by Province, 2000
*Ontario includes data for the Territories Source: Statistics Canada |
Over the 1996 to 2000 period, British Columbia recorded the second
strongest growth in number of SMXs in the country. Even so, the
average annual compound rate of growth was only 0.4%. Alberta posted
the strongest rate of growth at 2.7%, while Ontario (including
the Territories), at –0.9%, and Atlantic Canada, at
–1.0%, experienced the greatest percent drops in number of SMXs.
Growth in Number of SMXs by Province,
Source: Statistics Canada |
The distribution of SMX exports across the country
in 2000 was similar to the provincial distribution of SMXs. British
Columbia ranked third in terms of value of goods exported by SMXs
with about 14% of the national total. SMXs in Ontario (including
the Territories) exported almost $9 billion worth of goods, representing
45% of Canada's SMX shipments. This was almost twice Quebec's
portion of $4.5 billion and over three times as much as British
Columbia's $2.8 billion.
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SMX Export Dollar Value by Province, 2000
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Source: Statistics Canada Although some provinces experienced declines in the number of
SMXs from 1996 to 2000, all provinces other than Newfoundland (-3.5%)
recorded growth in the value of exports shipped by SMXs over that
period. SMX exports from Alberta (+6.9%) and British Columbia (+6.8%)
grew at virtually the same rate over the interval. Although Atlantic
Canada as a whole experienced only modest growth of 1.8%, Prince
Edward Island led all provinces with a 10.8% average annual compound
rate of growth in SMX exports between 1996 and 2000.
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Growth in Value of SMX Exports by Province, 1996-2000 
Source: Statistics Canada |
In 2000, SMXs in British Columbia had export sales close to the national level, averaging $608,142 compared to $638,654 for Canadian SMXs overall. Prince Edward Island had by far the largest average exports per SMX, at $942,962, while in Saskatchewan, SMXs lagged behind with average shipments valued at $420,205. However, for large exporters, Prince Edward Island ranked last and Alberta was the top ranking province with regard to average value of exports per large exporter. Large exporters in British Columbia shipped less than the national average ($69.1 million) with only $54.4 million in exports per large exporter.
Some of the disparity between the provinces can be explained
by the difference in types of commodities produced and exported.
For instance, Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador are at the
top of the scale for large exporters primarily because of significant
oil exports. Ontario's manufacturing sector, particularly
automobile manufacturing, is likely the reason that province ranks
third in exports per large exporter. For SMXs, Prince Edward Island
has a number of small farming operations that export significant
values of potatoes, which is why they rank first. In British Columbia,
part of the reason exporters are shipping less, on average, could
be due to lower commodity prices for goods produced within the
province. On the other hand, although British Columbia SMXs have
smaller export sales, there are more SMXs per capita compared to
most provinces. In essence, British Columbia has its exports distributed
among a larger number of firms compared to other provinces.
Average Exports per SMX by Province, 2000 
Source: Statistics Canada |
Average Exports per Large Exporter Source: Statistics Canada |
4 See technical note #3.