Active enterprises in Canada, 2020

Release date: January 12, 2023
Infographic: Active enterprises in Canada, 2020
Description: Active enterprises in Canada, 2020

In 2020, there were 1,179,960 active enterprises in Canada with one or more employees. Of those, 66.8% had four employees or fewer.Note 1


Number of active enterprises with one or more employees in 2020, by province/territory
Table summary
This table displays the results of Number of active enterprises with one or more employees in 2020. The information is grouped by Province or Territory  (appearing as row headers), Number and Percent (%) (appearing as column headers).
Province or Territory  Number Percent (%)
Canada (Total) 1,179,960 100.0
Newfoundland and Labrador 14,820 1.3
Prince Edward Island 5,650 0.5
Nova Scotia 28,250 2.4
New Brunswick 23,280 2.0
Quebec 247,340 21.0
Ontario 445,010 37.7
Manitoba 37,610 3.2
Saskatchewan 36,160 3.1
Alberta 153,360 13.0
British Columbia 185,320 15.7
Territories 3,140 0.3

Among new enterprises with at least one employee in 2019, the survival rate in 2020 was 84%. Among those that were born in 2018, 71% were still active in 2020.

The health care and social assistance sector had the highest survival rate.

Sectors with highest survival rate of new enterprisesNote 2
Table summary
This table displays the results of Sectors with highest survival rate of new enterprises. The information is grouped by Sector (appearing as row headers), One-year survival rate and Two-year survival rate (appearing as column headers).
Sector One-year survival rate Two-year survival rate
Health care and social assistance 90.90% 82.80%
Accommodation and food services 89.50% 79.10%
Retail trade 88.30% 75.60%
Manufacturing 87.80% 76.90%

The largest number of high-growth enterprisesNote 3 was in the construction sector (15.5%), followed by professional, scientific and technical services (15.1%), and retail trade (9.9%).


High-growth Enterprises
Table summary
This table displays the results of High-growth Enterprises . The information is grouped by Sector (appearing as row headers), Number and Percent (%) (appearing as column headers).
Sector Number Percent (%)
Construction 780 15.5
Professional, scientific and technical services 760 15.1
Retail trade 500 9.9
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