Key Insights from BDL’s New Report

Immigrant entrepreneurs don’t operate on the economic margins — they are central to Canada’s economic engine. From Roots to Routes: Immigrant Entrepreneurs and How They Are Shaping Canada’s Trade Future, the latest research report from the Business Data Lab, explores the complex and textured picture of immigrant entrepreneurship in Canada and delves into the potential for these entrepreneurs to advance Canada’s trade diversification efforts.

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Fast Facts

• Immigrants are more likely than Canadian-born to own a business (11.9% of immigrants vs. 8.4% of Canadian-born).
• In 2020, immigrant-owned businesses employed approximately 810,000 people.
• In 2020, 16.4% of all Canadian exporters that were active in goods trade were immigrant-owned.
  

Terms to Know

Immigrant-owned: One or more immigrants collectively hold more than 50% of a business. The report counts firms owned directly by individuals and excludes those owned by other corporations.

Incorporated businesses: Registered legal entities often employing staff, operating at scale, and are subject to corporate tax and regulatory obligations.

Unincorporated businesses: Typically, sole proprietorships or informal partnerships. Not legally distinct from their owners, are often smaller, and tend to reflect early-stage or necessity-driven entrepreneurship.

Who Are Canada’s Immigrant Entrepreneurs?

In 2010, there were approximately 247,000 immigrant-owned incorporated businesses. By 2020, that number had nearly doubled to 474,000, accounting for over half of all net new incorporated businesses formed during this period. Meanwhile, immigrant-owned unincorporated businesses grew from about 180,000 in 2010 to about 342,000 in 2020.

Share of Majority Ownership, Immigrant Status, 2010–20 Distribution as a share of total firms, incorporated and unincorporated

Immigrant-owned businesses vary significantly by gender, firm size, industry and region.

Gender

Immigrant men are about twice as likely to own a business as immigrant women. Women account for roughly 27‒29% of immigrant business owners.

Firm Size

In 2010, almost 98% of immigrant-owned firms employed fewer than 10 people. While the number of immigrant-owned businesses nearly doubled by 2020, the share of those with fewer than 10 workers remained consistent.

Geography

The geographic distribution of immigrant-owned businesses closely mirrors Canada’s immigration settlement patterns. Ontario is home to more than half of all immigrant-owned businesses in Canada (~446,000), which aligns with Ontario’s position as home to nearly half of Canada’s immigrant population.

Following Ontario is British Columbia with ~18% of all immigrant-owned businesses, Alberta with ~12%, and Quebec with 11%.

Industry

In 2020, 60% of immigrant-owned firms in Canada were concentrated in transportation and warehousing; real estate and rental and leasing; professional, scientific and technical services; construction; and retail trade. However, when focusing exclusively on firms that reported revenue in 2020, professional, scientific, and technical services become the top industry, surpassing transportation and warehousing.

It’s important to acknowledge that the prominence of transportation and professional services may partly reflect participation in gig-economy roles or lower-barrier entrepreneurial activities (for example, owner-operator trucking, rideshare driving, and freelance consulting).

The Economic Contribution of Immigrant Entrepreneurs

Though immigrant-owned firms may be small in size, their economic contribution is not.

As the number of immigrant-owned businesses increased between 2010 and 2020, so too did their impact on employment, payroll contribution and revenues. In 2020…

• Immigrant-owned businesses directly employed around 810,000 individuals, up from 597,000 in 2010.
• Immigrant-owned businesses disbursed almost $35 billion in T4-reported wages and salaries, up from $20 billion in 2010.
• Immigrant-owned firms had total annual revenues of $218 billion, up from $93 billion in 2010.
  
  

Economic Contribution by Immigrant-owned Firms, 2010–20
Incorporated and unincorporated (unadjusted for CPI)

The Influence of Country/Region of Origin

While immigrant entrepreneurs in Canada are often discussed as a single group, their business outcomes vary widely by the owner’s country or region of origin, which shapes the likelihood of innovating, exporting, and operating in globally linked sectors.

Of approximately 400,000 immigrant-owned businesses that reported revenues, the top five countries/regions of origin were:

• India (24%)
• Mainland China (13%)
• Iran (5%)
• Pakistan (4%)
• Hong Kong (SAR) and the United Kingdom (3%)
  

Breakdown of Top 10 COO of Immigrant-owned Firms (Revenue Generating), 2020 Distribution as a share of immigrant-owned revenue-generating firms, incorporated and unincorporated

Influence of country of origin on industry

• Professional, scientific and technical services (PST): Immigrant entrepreneurs are primarily from India, Mainland China, Iran, Pakistan and the United Kingdom.
• Transportation and warehousing: Immigrant entrepreneurs are primarily from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Poland and Russia.
• Construction: Immigrant entrepreneurs are primarily from India, Mainland China, Iran, Poland and the United Kingdom.
• Retail trade: Immigrant entrepreneurs are primarily from Mainland China, India, Pakistan, Lebanon and Iran.
• Healthcare and social assistance: Immigrant entrepreneurs are primarily from India, Iran, South Africa, Mainland China and the United Kingdom.

Influence of country/region of origin on trade

Only a small fraction of immigrant-owned firms reported export activity. Factors, such as constrained access to capital, weaker integration into established supply chains, and lower awareness of federal trade programs, contribute to these outcomes. Even still, the trend is moving upward — the share of immigrant exporters rose from 12% in 2010 to more than 16% in 2020.

Distribution of Immigrant-owned Exporters, 2010–20 Distribution as a share of exporters with active goods trade, incorporated and unincorporated

In 2020, immigrant entrepreneurs from Mainland China, India, Iran, Hong Kong (SAR), and the United Kingdom were among the most export-active, with Chinese-origin firms making up nearly 18% of immigrant-owned exporters.

Refugee Entrepreneurs

From 2010 to 2020, refugee-owned businesses that generated revenue consistently accounted for between 12‒14% of all immigrant-owned, revenue-generating firms in Canada. Their strongest presence is in sectors with lower barriers to entry — logistics, warehousing, retail, and food services — where determination, practical skills, and community networks often matter more than formal credentials.

Unlocking the Potential of Immigrant Entrepreneurs

Immigrant-owned businesses are building Canada’s future economy and trade patterns. With the right supports, Canada can unlock more of that potential.

Recommendations

• Financing that scales with ambition — Expand access to capital for immigrant-owned firms, from microloans to growth financing, with attention to both early-stage and scale-up needs.
• Export-readiness and trade facilitation — Equip diaspora-led and globally oriented firms with tools, networks, and financing to compete internationally.
• Credential recognition and regulatory navigation — Remove barriers that keep highly skilled immigrants from contributing fully in regulated sectors, while supporting transitions into adjacent high-value industries.
• Inclusive procurement and market access — Open doors to public and private supply chains, enabling immigrant-owned firms to compete for larger contracts.
• Gender-responsive strategies — Address the structural and intersectional barriers faced by immigrant women entrepreneurs through bundled supports that combine financing, training, childcare, and networks.