Firm Dynamics: Firm Entry and Exit in Canada, 2000 to 2008

This paper examines firm entry and exit patterns in the Canadian business sector by using the Longitudinal Employment Analysis Program database developed by Statistics Canada. Our primary purpose is to present stylized facts and provide descriptive analysis of the entry and exit patterns in the Canadian economy in order to form a solid foundation for future in-depth theoretical and empirical studies of firm dynamics. In particular, this paper focuses on the relative importance of entrants and exiters in terms of both number and employment, the persistence of entry and exit patterns over time, and the correlation between industry entry and exit rates.