October Business Openings Exceeded Closures

Jan 27, 2021

In October, the number of business openings (41,910) exceeded the number of business closures (32,420) for the third consecutive month. As a result, the number of active businesses in October edged up 0.6%. Despite the slight increase, the number of active businesses was down 6.7% from February 2020.

The pace of growth in active businesses has slowed down in the business sector. From September to October, business closures increased 6.9% and business openings decreased by 3.4%.
The number of business closures rose in all provinces and territories from September to October, except in Prince Edward Island and Yukon. Among the provinces, the largest increases in percentage terms were recorded in Ontario (+1,357; +12.2%), New Brunswick (+37; +8.4%) and Quebec (+253; +5.0%). However, the number of business closures across the provinces and territories was down more than 10% compared with the same month one year earlier. 

In most industries, business closures rose from September to October. Arts, entertainment and recreation recorded a steep increase, with business closures up 24.8% (+106 businesses). The industries that were most affected at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic saw business closures increase in October compared with the previous month, with closures up 6.0% (+85) in accommodation and food services, 5.6% (+114) in retail trade and 4.6% (+88) in other services (except public administration). 

Since July 2020, the pace of growth in active businesses has slowed down in the business sector. This trend is relatively consistent across industries. In some industries, such as arts, entertainment and recreation, and accommodation and food services, the number of active businesses in October was 10% lower than the pre-pandemic level. In others, such as professional, scientific and technical services, and forestry, fishing and hunting, the gap has almost closed.

To respond to an increase in COVID-19 infections, many provinces began implementing new guidelines for businesses in October. The impact of these changes and those that followed in subsequent months will be tracked in future releases.

Source: Statistics Canada, www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/210125/dq210125b-eng.htm?CMP=mstatcan