September 18, 2024
- 51% of Canadians are aspiring entrepreneurs – up five percentage points over 2023
- More Canadian small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs cite meaningful work (93%) over making more money (87%) as a motivation for owning their own business.
The annual RBC Business Poll reveals that the proportion of Canadians considering starting their own business rose to 51% this year, marking a five percentage point increase from 2023 – and an encouraging rebound following a previous two-year decline.
“Historically, we’ve observed strong interest across Canada in starting and owning businesses, and it’s promising to see that a significant number of Canadians in 2024 are aspiring entrepreneurs,” says Don Ludlow, vice president of Small Business, Partnerships and Strategy, Royal Bank of Canada. “As our economy evolves, we are seeing a growing number of Canadians seriously considering entrepreneurship as they recognize there are more diverse pathways than before to make the jump. Our survey shows that many are eying opportunities to gradually transition to entrepreneurship, and they need continued support to turn their ideas into reality and to build the next generation of businesses.”
According to the RBC Poll, most (72%) aspiring entrepreneurs are already exploring different tracks to gradually transition to business ownership, including:
Purpose over profit: the search for meaningful work driving small business aspirations
Findings from the RBC poll also revealed that, in recent years, Canadians have placed more emphasis on pursuing their passions, particularly as traditional job security weakens and many are prioritizing flexibility in their work-life balance.
Compared to 2019, Canadians are less likely to say ‘making more money’ is a motivation for owning their own business, with this number falling three percentage points from 90% to 87%. Rather, small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs cited meaningful work (93%) over making more money (87%) as their main motivation.
The poll highlights that a substantial proportion of small business owners launched their ventures to achieve more flexibility, with 46% stating they wanted to spend more time at home with their children, and 40% aiming to care for aging parents. Aspiring entrepreneurs reported similar motivations, with Gen Z and Millennials particularly interested in the greater autonomy and sense of purpose offered by entrepreneurship.
About the survey
The RBC Small Business Poll was conducted by Ipsos Canada from June 21 to 25 2024. A total of 2001 surveys were self-completed online by Canadian adults (Age 18+), represented in six different regions (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan/Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada). Representative sample results are weighted to reflect the Canadian population. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ±3 percentage points had all Canadian adults been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population represented. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to, coverage error, and measurement error.
