This survey will collect information on the types of financing businesses use, on their current growth opportunities and obstacles facing businesses. The results from this survey will guide policy changes and programs to assist businesses, and measure industry performance.
Your information may also be used by Statistics Canada for other statistical and research purposes.
Collection period:
February 22 to June 24, 2024
Collection methods:
Electronic questionnaire
Survey participation:
Voluntary
Your participation in the Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises is voluntary. However, to ensure that the survey results are as precise and accurate as possible, it is important that each person participate.
Confidentiality
Data are collected under the authority of the Statistics Act, Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985, Chapter S-19.
By law, Statistics Canada is prohibited from releasing any information it collects that could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent, or as permitted by the Statistics Act. Statistics Canada will use the information from this survey for statistical purposes only.
Data sharing agreements and record linkage
Data sharing agreements
To reduce the response burden, Statistics Canada has entered into data sharing agreements with provincial and territorial statistical agencies and other government organizations, which have agreed to keep the data confidential and use them only for statistical purposes. Statistics Canada will only share data from this survey with those organizations that have demonstrated a requirement to use the data.
Section 12 of the Statistics Act provides for the sharing of information with federal, provincial or territorial government organizations. Under Section 12, you may refuse to share your information with any of these organizations by writing a letter of objection to the Chief Statistician, specifying the organizations with which you do not want Statistics Canada to share your data and mailing it to the following address:
Chief Statistician of Canada
Statistics Canada
Attention of Director, Centre for Special Business Projects
150 Tunney's Pasture Driveway
Ottawa, ON K1A 0T6
You may also contact us by email, at statcan.esdhelpdesk-dsebureaudedepannage.statcan@statcan.gc.ca, or by fax, at 613-951-6583.
For this survey, there is a Section 12 agreement with Institut de la statistique du Québec.
For agreements with provincial and territorial government organizations, the shared data will be limited to information pertaining to business establishments located within the jurisdiction of the respective province or territory.
Record linkage
To enhance the data from this survey and to reduce the response burden, Statistics Canada may combine the information you provide with data from other surveys or administrative sources.
Topics covered in the survey
- number of employees
- information about debt, lease, trade credit, equity and government financing (amount of largest request, partial amounts authorized, length of financing terms, and interest rates)
- breakdown of sales by customer location
- breakdown of exports by destination region
- information about the ownership of your business
Published data
Statistics Canada publishes the results of its surveys in many formats. To find all the documents related to this survey, follow the links below and type the name of the survey in the search engine located at the left of your screen to filter the results.
Data: You will find tables, profiles of a community or region, thematic maps, public use microdata files, and data visualization tools.
Analysis: You will have direct access to Stats in brief (e.g., releases from The Daily, fact sheets), articles and reports, and journals and periodicals.
Survey-specific questions
- What is the purpose of the Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises?
- How was my business selected?
- How will this survey benefit my business?
- When will surveys results be available?
What is the purpose of the Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises?
The survey is designed to provide information about the financing used by and available to small-and medium-sized businesses in Canada. The survey will also collect information on the growth of these businesses and factors that may limit their growth.
How was my business selected?
Statistics Canada uses a statistical method called sampling. It is an established way to determine characteristics of an entire population by surveying only part of the population. Businesses were selected as part of a random sample to represent other businesses of the same type (industry, geography, employee size). To ensure that the sample is an accurate reflection of the population as a whole, both nationally and regionally, it is important to have the participation of all those who have been selected through the sampling process.
How will this survey benefit my business?
Your answers are important for the development of public policy and programs designed to promote small- and medium-sized businesses in Canada. You can use the data to see how your organization is positioned compared to the overall operations of organizations in your particular sector.
When will survey results be available?
Survey results will be made available in January 2025. At that time there will be an announcement in The Daily, Statistics Canada's official release bulletin.
Consult Published data for previously released survey results.