Monthly estimates of business openings and closures, June 2021
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Released: 2021-09-27
In June 2021, the number of business closures increased by 6.4%, following a 5.6% decline in May. The number of business openings (-1.1%) dropped for the third consecutive month.
From April to June, the average of both business closures and openings has been close to their 2015-to-2019 averages, and the closures and openings did not react strongly to changes in economic restrictions during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, except in the tourism sector.
The number of entrants grew by 2.3% in June. This number has been generally above its 2015-to-2019 average since October 2020. The decline in the number of business openings in June and in recent months has been driven entirely by the declining number of reopenings.
The number of entrants increased in every province, except New Brunswick (-19.5%) and Saskatchewan (-2.9%). Only Nova Scotia (+34.2%) and Ontario (+6.4%) had higher numbers of reopenings in June than in the previous month.
The number of business openings decreased in every province, except Nova Scotia (+19.0%), Ontario (+8.2%) and Alberta (+1.0%). The decline in business openings in Canada was led by the decreases in New Brunswick (-25.0%), Quebec (-1.4%) and British Columbia (-2.1%).
Quebec (-2.6%) was the only province with fewer business closures in June than in May. Manitoba (+42.0%) had more business closures in June than in the previous month for the first time since February.
First increase in business openings in the tourism sector since January 2021
In June, as public health measures were eased, many activities, such as indoor and outdoor dining and recreational and cultural events, resumed or continued in most areas.
The number of business openings in the tourism sector (+43.9%; +1,054) increased for the first time since January. This was its highest percentage increase since June 2020.
Arts, entertainment and recreation (+26.8%; +158) and accommodation and food services (+12.0%; +248) showed higher business openings after two and three consecutive months of decreases, respectively. The change in openings in these sectors was consistent with their variation in real gross domestic product, which rose in June for the first time since March.
The number of business closures grew in all industries, except manufacturing (-1.5%; -16) and professional, scientific and technical services (-0.8%; -48). The growth in business closures was largely driven by the increase in transportation and warehousing (+21.2%; +548) and construction (+3.7%; +200).
Chart 1
Monthly business openings and closures, Canada, January 2019 to June 2021, seasonally adjusted series
Chart 2
Monthly business reopenings and entrants, Canada, January 2019 to June 2021, seasonally adjusted series
Note to readers
Every new month of data leads to a revision of the previously released data due to factors such as the seasonal adjustment process and a new version of the Generic Survey Universe File (vintage of the Business Register). As such, estimates may vary from a previous release.
Openings are defined as businesses with employment in the current month and no employment in the previous month, while closures are defined as businesses that had employment in the previous month, but no employment in the current month. Continuing businesses are those that have employees in both months, and the active population in any given month is the number of opening and continuing businesses in that month. Reopening businesses are defined as opening businesses that were also active in a previous month (that is, they closed in a given month and had positive employment in a subsequent month). In contrast, entrants are opening businesses that were not active in a previous month.
A business is defined as an enterprise operating in a particular geography and industry.
The vast majority of businesses operate in one industry and one location or geography. For these businesses, in the monthly estimates of openings and closings, they will be counted once at the national/provincial level. For example, a retailer in Windsor, Ontario will be counted as an active business in the Ontario estimates and once in the national estimates.
Some businesses can have multiple operations, and these can be in different industries and geographies. For such businesses, in the monthly estimates of openings and closings, they can be counted more than once because they are active in multiple industries or geographies. For example, if a retailer has operations in both Alberta and Ontario, it will be counted as an active business in both provinces, but only once at the national level because it represents only one active firm. Similarly, a firm with retail and wholesale operations will be counted in both industries when individual industries are examined. However, when the business sector is examined, the firm counts only once because, at that level, it represents one firm active in the business sector.
Contact information
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