Latest report releases
- Key Small Business Statistics 2024
2025-03-05 - From startup to employer: a duration analysis of the time until Canadian startups hire their first employee
2025-02-05 - Biannual Survey of Suppliers of Business Financing — Data analysis, first half of 2024
- Canada Small Business Financing Program: A Firm-Level Economic Impact Analysis
SME in Canada
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Definition
Small:
1-99 employees;
Medium:
100‑499 employees;
Large:
500 employees and more; -
Number of businesses with employees in 2023
Small:
1,074,939 (98.1%)
Medium:
16,966 (1.5%)
Large:
3,346 (0.3%)
Total:
1,095,251Sources: Statistics Canada, Business Register; and ISED calculations.
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Number of private sector employees in 2023
Small:
5,823,742 (46.5%)
Medium:
2,142,837 (17.1%)
Large:
4,546,586 (36.3%)
Total:
12,513,165Sources: Statistics Canada, Table 14-10-0215-01—Employment for all employees by enterprise size, annual; and ISED calculations.
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Contribution to gross domestic product (GDP)
From 2017 to 2021, the average contribution of small businesses to GDP was 34.7%, the contribution of medium-sized businesses was 13.3% and the contribution of large businesses was 45.1%.
Source: KSBS 2024.