Non-profit organizations in rural and small town Canada, 2022
Released: 2025-02-17
Nearly 136,000 active non-profit organizations (NPOs) were operating across Canada in 2022. Over 29,000 NPOs were active in rural and small town areas, accounting for just over one-fifth (21.3%) of the total number of NPOs nationwide. By contrast, about 107,000 NPOs (78.7%) were active in functional urban areas.
Fewer active non-profit organizations in rural and small town Canada
The number of active NPOs in rural and small town Canada decreased 1.9% year over year to 29,010 in 2022. Rural and small town areas in British Columbia (-6.6%), Nova Scotia (-3.3%) and Manitoba (-3.0%) saw the largest decreases of NPOs over this period, while those in the territories (+1.5%) and Newfoundland and Labrador (+1.0%) experienced modest increases.
Combined, Quebec (24.4%), Ontario (19.5%), Alberta (12.1%), Saskatchewan (9.6%) and British Columbia (9.5%) accounted for three-quarters (75.1%) of the total number of NPOs in rural and small town Canada in 2022.
In functional urban areas, the number of active NPOs increased 0.9% from a year earlier to 106,956 in 2022. Alberta led this growth (+2.0%), followed by Ontario (+1.1%), Quebec (+1.0%), Nova Scotia (+1.0%) and British Columbia (+0.9%). Collectively, Ontario (38.3%), Quebec (23.3%), British Columbia (15.3%) and Alberta (10.6%) accounted for 87.5% of the total number of urban NPOs.
Chart 1
Percentage change in the number of active non-profit organizations in Canada, by province or territories and by rural and small town area and functional urban area, 2021 to 2022
Rising revenue for active non-profit organizations in rural and small town Canada
Canadian NPOs generated nearly $339 billion in total revenue in 2022, up 3.3% from a year earlier. Rural and small town NPOs contributed just under $28 billion in 2022, representing 8.3% of the total, with revenue growing by 3.1% from the previous year. Nearly four-fifths (79.8%) of the total revenue of rural and small town NPOs were generated in Quebec (26.7%), Ontario (18.9%), Manitoba (12.6%), Alberta (10.8%) and British Columbia (10.8%). NPOs in functional urban areas accounted for the remaining $311 billion in total revenue, up 3.3% from 2021. Urban NPOs in Ontario (41.2%), Quebec (25.7%), British Columbia (15.0%) and Alberta (8.2%) contributed 90.1% of the total revenue of urban NPOs in 2022.
Employment growth for active non-profit organizations in rural and small town Canada
Canadian NPOs employed just under 3.8 million people across the country in 2022, a 6.1% increase from 2021. Employment within rural and small town NPOs grew by 2.1% year over year to 453,407 in 2022. NPOs in rural and small town areas of Prince Edward Island (+9.8%) experienced the largest growth in employment, followed by those in Quebec (+5.6%) and New Brunswick (+4.9%). For NPOs in functional urban areas, employment rose by 6.7% to 3.3 million in 2022. Urban NPOs in Quebec (+9.7%) and New Brunswick (+9.7%) led employment growth over this period.
Top activities of active non-profit organizations in rural and small town Canada
In 2022, nearly one-quarter (23.1%) of rural and small town NPOs were involved in religious activities, while 17.7% were in sports, recreation and social clubs and 13.4% were in social services. For NPOs in functional urban areas, sports, recreation and social clubs (25.8%) were the most common activity, followed by religion (16.6%) and social services (14.4%). These trends have remained stable since 2019, reflecting ongoing priorities for NPOs in both regions.
Chart 2
Share of active non-profit organizations in Canada, by International Classification of Non-Profit Organizations and by rural and small town area or functional urban area, 2022
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Note to readers
This analysis draws from the Rural Canada Non-Profits, 2022 database, which provides information on the counts, revenue, employment and activities of active non-profit organizations (NPOs) in rural and small town Canada.
The 2022 Rural Canada Non-Profits database is derived from Statistics Canada's Business Register. The Business Register serves as a comprehensive list of businesses in Canada, providing detailed information, including address, non-profit or for-profit status, industry, and Canada Revenue Agency tax filings and tax return data. NPOs retained in the 2022 Rural Canada Non-Profits database were active for all or part of the reference year and reported revenue or employment.
Data are available by geography (Canada, province or territory, census subdivision, rural and small town area or functional urban area), by activity type, in accordance with the International Classification of Non-Profit Organizations, and by industry, based on the North American Industry Classification System.
The geographic classifications at the Canada and provincial or territorial levels are based on Statistics Canada's Standard Geographical Classification (SGC). The 2016 SGC is used for the reference periods from 2019 to 2021. Starting from the 2022 reference period and onward, the 2021 SGC is applied. Rural and small town areas are those outside census metropolitan areas (CMAs) or census agglomerations (CAs). Functional urban areas are those inside CMAs or CAs.
Detailed information can be found in the Rural Canada Non-Profits database Metadata and user guide.
Products
The "Rural Canada Non-Profits, 2022" database and the Metadata and user guide are now available.
The Rural Canada Non-Profits: Interactive Dashboard, which is part of Statistics Canada – Data Visualization Products (71-607-X), is now available.
Contact information
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