In October, the business opening rate edged down 0.1 percentage points to 4.7%, following a similar decline in the previous two months. The business closure rate edged up 0.1 percentage points to 4.8% in October after experiencing a similar decline in September. While the business opening rate was equal to its 2015-to-2019 historical average, the business closure rate settled 0.2 percentage points above its historical average, reported Statistics Canada on Monday.
As the number of business closures was higher than that of openings, the number of active businesses dropped by 0.1% (-544 businesses) in October. In the same month, payroll employment fell by 0.1%, real gross domestic product increased by 0.3% and business insolvency filings rose from 444 in September to 468 in October, said the federal agency.
“The slight decrease in the business sector opening rate in October was driven by the 0.1 percentage point decline in the reopening rate (3.1%), as the entry rate held relatively steady at 1.6%. Despite its decrease, the reopening rate was 0.2 percentage points above its historical average, while the entry rate was 0.2 percentage points below its historical average,” said the report.
“In October, business openings dropped or remained relatively steady in most sectors. The decrease in the business sector openings was led by construction (-112 openings compared with September; 31.1% contribution to the decline in the business sector openings), followed by other services (except public administration) (-100 openings; 27.8% contribution) and real estate and rental and leasing (-96 openings; 26.7% contribution).
“While the total number of closures in the overall business sector increased slightly in October, most sectors saw a decline in business closures, resulting in an overall decrease when summing up the sectoral figures. This discrepancy arises because seasonal adjustments are applied separately to each sector to ensure that each sector’s data are adjusted independently to account for their unique seasonal patterns.”
In October, retail trade (-437 closures compared with September; -0.5 percentage point change in the closure rate) drove the change in business closures. It was followed by professional, scientific and technical services (-110; -0.1 percentage points) and finance and insurance, and management of companies and enterprises (-94; -0.4 percentage points), added StatsCan.
Mario Toneguzzi
Mario Toneguzzi is Managing Editor of Canada’s Podcast. He has more than 40 years of experience as a daily newspaper writer, columnist, and editor. He was named in 2021 and 2024 as one of the top business journalists in the world by PR News. He was also named by RETHINK to its global list of Top Retail Experts 2024 and 2025.
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