We ranked as one of Canada’s ‘worst small business cities’
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business recently released their list for the best cities in Canada to start a business, and you’re not going to like the results. Out of 125 ‘cities’, Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto didn’t even crack the top 50. But more on this in a second.
The CFIB is a non-profit organization that represents roughly 110k small to mid-size businesses, with 96% having 50 or fewer people on the payroll. The survey focuses on 13 indicators across 3 categories- presence, perspective, and policy. Presence refers to the entrepreneurial landscape, perspective largely relies on optimism, and policy is about, you guessed it, policies.
The Best Places to Start a Business
So where’s the best place to start a business? Whitehorse, in the Northwest Territories. Ok, sure, and no slight against Whitehorse, but we don’t know many people who are willing to move there, no matter how enticing the tax rate is. The best Albertan city is Grande Prairie at number 6, where residents can experience cultural events like the Annual Fiddlers’ Jamboree. Collingwood shares the number 6 spot and is home of the Elvis Festival. Squamish, BC rounds out the top 10, probably because of its proximity to Vancouver, Whistler, and the Howe Sound.
Hot take time- it’s hard to start a business in a large city and do well. Competition is rampant and large corporations have access to capital that the average person can only dream of. Think that business diversity is the key? Think again, as a fair portion of these will have umbrella companies that use venture capital firms to fuel those who they think are most likely to succeed. There’s a reason why most small businesses want to get big enough that they can sell out, it’s easier than trying to compete.
What we’re trying to say is, if you’re starting a business in Vancouver (#56), Toronto (#68), or Calgary (#113), you better have access to some serious cash and a really good idea. It’s not really about politics so much anymore, it’s just business. In fact, most academics agree that we have shifted from a nation state to a market state, thanks to technological advancement and rapid globalization. The CIA has even talked about its implications. Buckle up folks, and get ready for Google to start running things in earnest.
Now, are we saying that it’s impossible to start a business in the big city? No. We’re just acknowledging the current financial reality in Canada, wherein the top fifth of the country holds roughly 67% of the wealth, while the bottom fifth sits at -0.1%. Yikes.
Sorry if this is a bummer, but we would rather be honest about our interpretation than try and sugarcoat things. You can read the full report here if you’d like. In the meantime, maybe check out some of the posts below to cheer you up. Adios, friends.
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