Page 30 - Brandon Sun - 2020 Westman Business

30 THE BRANDON SUN • WESTMAN BUSINESS • NOVEMBER 2020

The people behind Canada’s small business resurgence

After nearly 20 years of stagnation, entrepreneurial activi-
ty in Canada is making a comeback. In fact, more Canadians
launched small businesses in 2018 than any other year in the
previous decade. To find out more about the people leading
this resurgence, the Business Development Bank of Canada
(BDC) conducted two national surveys on entrepreneurship
in 2018. Here’s what they found.
Millennials and Gen Zers accounted for roughly one-third
of new entrepreneurs. Over the previous four years, the
number of Canadians under 35 years old starting a business
jumped by 80 per cent.
Four times more women are entrepreneurs now than they
were 40 years ago, accounting for about 28 per cent of all Ca-
nadian small business owners. The growth in female entre-
preneurship was about three times faster than that of male
entrepreneurship.
One in four small business owners is a recent immigrant.
What’s more, the rate of entrepreneurs entering the market
is twice as high among newcomers than among the Canadi-
an-born population.
A growing number of baby boomers are starting small busi-
nesses late in their careers. In fact, the number of new Cana-
dian entrepreneurs over the age of 55 tripled between 2000
and 2018.
Nearly 41 per cent of entrepreneurs have a post-secondary
degree, despite university graduates making up only 26 per
cent of the Canadian workforce. The university graduation
rate is even higher among women and immigrants.
In addition to their major contribution to the recent growth
in entrepreneurial activity, these changes to the demograph-
ics of small business owners in Canada have created a more
diverse market. Seamstress measures fabric in textile workshop.

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