Immigrant Entrepreneurs: Fueling Canada’s Economic Future

Walk into a restaurant, a grocery store, or even a dental office in Canada, and there’s a strong chance the business is immigrant-owned. Behind the counters, boardrooms, and storefronts are entrepreneurs who are not just making a living but reshaping the Canadian economy.

Canada’s business sector employs nearly 12.5 million people, but the story of entrepreneurship goes deeper. More than 2.5 million Canadians are self-employed, and of those, over 800,000 have paid employees. These small business owners form the heartbeat of the economy, creating jobs and competition in communities large and small.

Yet a looming challenge lies ahead: nearly 950,000 self-employed Canadians are over the age of 55, many expected to retire within the next decade. The question is clear, who will replace them?

Immigrants at the Helm

The answer, increasingly, is immigrants. According to the 2021 Census, immigrants make up 32% of all business owners with paid staff. That’s not just a number, it translates into thousands of local jobs across industries like construction, health care, retail, and professional services.

Across the country, there are more than 800,000 self-employed immigrants, and over 250,000 of them employ others. Immigrants are also climbing the leadership ladder, with more than 46,000 holding senior management roles nationwide.

Industries Powered by Immigrant Entrepreneurship

Some sectors rely especially heavily on immigrant-owned businesses. From the food Canadians eat to the technology that powers the digital economy, immigrant entrepreneurs are taking the lead.

In fact, more than half of Canada’s restaurants (53%), truck transportation firms (56%), and grocery stores (52%) are owned by immigrants. In high-tech industries, the impact is also striking: nearly 49% of computer systems design firms and 40% of software publishers are immigrant-owned.

The Road Ahead

As Canada faces an aging business population, immigrant entrepreneurs are poised to play an even greater role in sustaining growth. They are not only replacing retiring business owners but also driving innovation and broadening consumer choice.

The message is clear: immigration is not just about filling jobs, it’s about creating them. The future of Canada’s economy may well be written in the stories of immigrant entrepreneurs building businesses from the ground up.