Small businesses in rural and small town Canada, 2023

Release date: December 12, 2025
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Infographic: Small businesses in rural and small town Canada, 2023
Description: Small businesses in rural and small town Canada, 2023

In 2023, 329,651 small businessesNote 1 operated in rural and small town Canada, representing 14.2% of all small businesses nationally.

Almost half of all small businesses in rural and small towns were in Ontario and Quebec.

Number and share of small businesses in rural and small town Canada, 2023

Table 1
Table summary
The information is grouped by Province or territory (appearing as row headers), Number and Share , calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Province or territory Number Share
percent
Newfoundland and Labrador 9,890 3.0
Prince Edward Island 4,301 1.3
Nova Scotia 14,729 4.5
New Brunswick 11,887 3.6
Quebec 83,809 25.4
Ontario 74,303 22.5
Manitoba 15,941 4.8
Saskatchewan 24,529 7.4
Alberta 53,304 16.2
British Columbia 35,530 10.8
Yukon 431 0.1
Northwest Territories 500 0.2
Nunavut 497 0.2

In 2023, small businesses in rural and small towns generated $163.1 billion in revenue, accounting for 16.9% of the total revenue ($965.6 billion) of all small businesses across Canada.

In rural and small town Canada, small businesses in agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting and in construction generated the most revenue in 2023.

Table 2
Table summary
The information is grouped by Industry (appearing as row headers), Share of total revenue , calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Industry Share of total revenue
percent
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting 25.5
Construction 16.3
Retail trade 11.9
Transportation and warehousing 6.2

Small businesses in rural and small towns had a higher average annual revenue than small businesses in urban areas.

Table 3
Table summary
The information is grouped by (appearing as row headers), , calculated using (appearing as column headers).
Average annual revenue
Rural and small towns $494,800
Urban areas $403,000

Small businesses in rural and small towns had higher expenses than small urban businesses, resulting in lower net profit.

Table 4
Table summary
This table displays the results of Table 4 , calculated using (appearing as column headers).
  Total expenses 2023 Net profit 2023
Rural and small towns $455,700 $39,100
Urban areas $343,200 $59,800

Note: In this infographic, rural and small towns refer to anywhere outside a census metropolitan area or census agglomeration, and urban means areas inside them, based on Statistics Canada’s 2021 Standard Geographical Classification.

Source: Statistics Canada, Rural Canada Business Profiles, 2023.

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Copyright

Published by authority of the Minister responsible for Statistics Canada.

© His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Industry, 2025

Use of this publication is governed by the Statistics Canada Open Licence Agreement.

Catalogue no. 11-627-M

Frequency: Occasional

Ottawa

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