Newcomers To Canada Starting More Successful Businesses

Where Do Newcomers Start Businesses In Canada? 

The number of newcomers who owned a business in Canada increased in every province and territory between 2019 and 2021. While this isn’t necessarily surprising, given that the number of immigrants also increased in that period – it is impressive when we consider that non-immigrant business ownership decreased during this time. 

Here are some interesting trends we found in the data: 

• Ontario, BC, and Quebec have the highest numbers of newcomer business owners. 
• The number of immigrants starting businesses in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Manitoba are growing rapidly – at faster rates than in BC, Ontario, and Quebec. 

Newcomers Who Arrived In Past 5 Years Starting More Businesses

In almost all provinces and territories, the number of newcomers who had arrived in the five years prior to 2022 increased at very high rates. This trend was especially noticeable in Nova Scotia, Ontario, and BC.  Meanwhile, newcomer business ownership dropped in Prince Edward Island, Alberta and Saskatchewan. 

Newcomers who landed in the 5 years before 2022 tended to favour business ownership in the following sectors: 

• Retail and wholesale trade
• Accommodation and food services
• Real Estate and rental and leasing.

Finally, and excitingly, there was a 38% increase in newcomers with businesses earning $1-$2.5 million annually. This shows that more new arrivals are succeeding and scaling their businesses quickly. 

Immigrant Business Owners Earning More In Recent Years

Speaking of immigrant business owners earning more – the proportion of immigrant businesses earning $250,000 or more per year increased quite dramatically from 2019-2021. Plus, there was a spike in the number of immigrants who earned over $2.5 million annually in 2022. 

Here are the interesting trends: 

• There was a huge jump in the number of newcomer business owners earning between $1-$2.5 million. 
• The number of immigrant business owners with revenue of $2.5 million or more increased for newcomers, and immigrants admitted 5-9 years ago and 10 or more years earlier. In other words, more immigrant business owners are operating with higher revenues. 

Industries Immigrants Are Thriving In

Incredibly, it’s a long list. Here are the industries in Canada immigrant business owners are increasing:

• Construction
• Manufacturing
• Retail trade
• Transportation and warehousing
• Information and cultural industries
• Finance and insurance
• Real estate and rental and leasing (significant jump)
• Professional, scientific, and technical services
• Administrative and support, waste management, and remediation services
• Educational services
• Healthcare and social assistance
• Arts, entertainment and recreation
• Accommodation and food
• Other services and unclassified.