Self-employment activity of rural Canadians - ARCHIVED

Self-employment is more common in rural than urban Canada. In 2001, about one in four workers in rural areas, villages and small towns earned at least some of their income from self-employment, compared with only one in six in Canada as a whole. Of course, farming is a key element explaining high self-employment rates in rural and small town Canada. But although farm self-employment remains a key source of income and employment for many, its importance has declined and self-employment activity on the non-farm side has been increasing rapidly.

The forces driving self-employment in smaller labour markets may be complex, but there is no doubt that entrepreneurship is thriving in rural Canada, despite the waning importance of farm self-employment. This article uses data from the Census of Population to describe non-farm self-employment among workers aged 20 to 64 living in Canada's rural areas and small towns.