Indigenous-owned businesses in Canada, 2018

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Release date: June 21, 2023
Infographic: Indigenous-owned businesses in Canada, 2018
Description: Indigenous-owned businesses in Canada, 2018

In 2018, there were an estimated 17,363 Indigenous-owned businesses in Canada, accounting for 1.3% of all private businessesNote 1 in the country.


Distribution of Indigenous-owned businesses, by Indigenous identity of the owner(s)
Table summary
This table displays the results of Distribution of Indigenous-owned businesses. The information is grouped by Indigenous identity (appearing as row headers), Percent (appearing as column headers).
Indigenous identity Percent
First Nations 45.7%
Métis 47.1%
Inuk (Inuit) 1.9%
Other Indigenous ownershipNote 2 5.3%

Distribution of Indigenous-owned businesses, by age of primary owner
Table summary
This table displays the results of Distribution of Indigenous-owned businesses. The information is grouped by Age of primary owner (appearing as row headers), Percent (appearing as column headers).
Age of primary owner Percent
Younger than 35 13.5%
35 to 44 years 21.9%
45 to 54 years 25.7%
55 to 64 years 24.8%
65 years or older 14.1%

Distribution of Indigenous-owned businesses, by sex of owner(s)
Table summary
This table displays the results of Distribution of Indigenous-owned businesses. The information is grouped by Sex of owner(s) (appearing as row headers), Percent (appearing as column headers).
Sex of owner(s) Percent
Men-owned 71.8%
Women-owned 24.7%
Equally owned 3.5%

24.7% of Indigenous-owned businesses were owned by women


Distribution of Indigenous-owned businesses, by province or region
Table summary
This table displays the results of Distribution of Indigenous-owned businesses. The information is grouped by Province or region (appearing as row headers), Percent (appearing as column headers).
Province or region Percent
Alberta 22.7%
Ontario 20.3%
British Columbia 18.2%
Quebec 15.4%
Atlantic 7.9%
Manitoba 7.0%
Saskatchewan 6.6%
Territories 1.9%

Alberta (22.7%) had the highest number of Indigenous-owned businesses, followed by Ontario (20.3%) and British Columbia (18.2%).


From 2005 to 2018, the share of women-owned businesses among Indigenous-owned businesses increased
Table summary
This table displays the results of From 2005 to 2018 Men-owned and Women-owned (appearing as column headers).
Men-owned Women-owned
2005 74.8% 22.1%
2010 73.4% 23.2%
2015 72.6% 23.8%
2018 71.8% 24.7%

Sources: Statistics Canada, table 33-10-0631-01 - Private enterprises by sex and Indigenous identity of ownership, province or region and enterprise size, table 33-10-0632-01 - Private enterprises by sex and Indigenous identity of ownership, age group of primary owner and enterprise size.

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