Small businesses make up nearly half of Canada’s private sector economy. They provide critical services and products in local communities and large businesses depending on their expertise and ingenuity. However, small businesses are often fragile, so research shows that the government needs to do more for these companies. This article will cover 10 major findings about Canada’s smallest enterprises.
1. COVID-19 Pandemic affected SMEs significantly
The SMEs in the nation accounts for over 90% of the employment between 2019 and 2020. The pandemic affected the net employment in a significant manner, with employers who work with SMEs having significantly less employees in January, compared to those who don’t have any contacts with these companies.
2. The SMEs survive for more than five years
With the solid foundation in managing small businesses, the nation ’s SMEs can survive for more than five years.
3. Small businesses contribute more to the GDP of Canada
The GDP of Canada that is contributed by SMEs is approximately 51.14% while the contribution of other employment classes accounted for the majority of the country’s GDP.
4. businesses owned by both men and women have a high rate of success.
Gender parity is still needed to be achieved in Canada, with women being the major owners of SMEs and control a much smaller share of the businesses than men.
5. There is an uneven distribution in the high-growth firms
In the information, mining and administrative, and support firms, the big companies can grow to a greater extent than the low-growth companies.
6. Service-providers have a lower survival rate compared to goods-producers
The economic set up for service-providers has a lower survival rate, with the businesses having a very low survival rate to a great extent. This is due to the competition in the industry as well as the high-risk of failure.
7. Canada boasts of having over one million SMEs
The nation has over one million SMEs, accounting for about a half of the nation’s GDP.
8. A significant number of exporters are SMEs
The nation boasts of a large number of SMEs that specialize in exports and the share of export in SMEs was 43% of the total goods in 2020.
9. The SMEs provide over 10 million jobs to Canadians
It is important to note that SMEs are not only a big part of the nation’s GDP but also provide employment to Canadians. The Canadian SMEs contribute about 83% of the total jobs available in Canada.
10. They are the major suppliers to large firms
The main reason why many firms from diverse sectors buy from SMEs is that they can provide specialized services and products.
In summary, SMEs do contribute significantly to Canada’s economy. They provide employment and a great deal of revenue while they are also the suppliers of large firms.
