Rural Canada Business Profiles: Interactive Dashboard

Additional information

This interactive dashboard presents selected data from the Rural Canada Business Profiles (RCBP) database, developed based on business tax returns filed with the Canada Revenue Agency. The RCBP database was first released on March 11, 2022, and includes data from the 2017 reference year onwards. A reference year for the RCBP database spans from January 1 to December 31.

The definition of "rural and small town (RST) area" and "functional urban area" adheres to Statistics Canada's Standard Geographical Classification (SGC). Businesses within census metropolitan areas (CMAs) or census agglomerations (CAs) are categorized as functional urban area, while those outside CMAs/CAs are designated RST area. The 2017 to 2021 iteration of the RCBP database aligns with the 2016 SGC . From the 2022 reference year onwards, geographies align with the 2021 SGC.

Small businesses are defined as those that have annual revenues of $30,000 to $5,000,000; this group includes incorporated and unincorporated businesses. Medium-sized businesses are defined as those with annual revenues of $5,000,001 to $20,000,000. All medium-sized businesses are incorporated. Businesses with annual revenues greater than $20,000,000 are not included in the RCBP database.

Key variables featured in this interactive dashboard include business counts, revenue, expenses and profitability. Data are organized by geography (Canada, region, province or territory), location (RST area or functional urban area), businesses incorporation status and industry. All industries are included, except for finance and insurance and public administration (according to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). The 2017 NAICS is used for the RCBP database from 2017 to 2021. For the 2022 RCBP database onwards, the 2022 NAICS is used. For small businesses, data are provided by geography (Canada, region, province or territory) and location (RST area or functional urban area). For medium-sized businesses, data are available only at the Canada level and by location (RST area or functional urban area).

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any data which would divulge information obtained under the Statistics Act that relates to any identifiable person, business or organization without the prior knowledge or the consent in writing of that person, business or organization. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential. If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data. If data for a specific region are not available, please contact the Rural Data Lab's Rural Client Services for assistance.

Other resources

Rural Canada Business Profiles Metadata and User guide, 2023

The Daily article: Small and medium-sized businesses in rural and small-town Canada, 2023

Infographic: Small businesses in rural and small town Canada, 2023

Learn more

To find more rural and small town Canada products, visit:

Rural Canada Statistics Portal

Rural Statistics in Canada (45-20-0004)

Rural and Small Town Canada Analysis Bulletin (21-006-X)

Questions? Contact Rural Client Services