Is Canada renewing its business base?

A stable employer count can conceal substantial entry, return and closure. Reading that movement beside corporate credit and insolvencies helps explain the business environment without confusing different populations or treating every closure as a failure.

What Measured, Contested and Blocked mean →

Business Dynamism & Credit · assessed October 26, 2026

A near-flat business count hides a busy economy.

Employers open, return and stop employing people every month. Read that movement alongside corporate borrowing, lenders’ conditions and formal insolvencies to see different parts of the business environment.

Active employer businesses938,9512026-06 · Canada · seasonally adjusted

Change from a year earlier6220.07% · same count series

Business insolvency filings4,75812 months to 2026-08 · bankruptcies and proposals under the BIA

An opening can be a returning employer. A closure can be temporary. Insolvency filings and corporate debt cover different populations from the employer counts; they cannot be divided into a common business failure rate or used to establish causes.

Employer dynamics: 2026-06 · corporate debt: 2026-08 · insolvencies: 2026-08 · lending survey: 2026 Q2

Review date is not a common release or capture date; each source retains its own observation period and capture record.

Read the full analysis →Explore the domain →Follow the Question →

Source update · October 26, 2026

August 2026 has 344 business insolvencies: 261 bankruptcies and 83 proposals. The twelve months through August total 4,758, -6.56% against the preceding twelve months.

This is the qualified August workbook, replacing the held July edition for insolvency tables. No selected historical cell was revised. Corporate plus individual-business filings and bankruptcy plus proposal filings reconcile, as do provincial/territorial totals. These are BIA filings, not statistical business closures or consumer insolvencies. Catalogue modification date is not an asserted release date; workbook captured October 26.

OSB monthly insolvency workbook

Opening employers47,5562026-06 · returning employers and entrants

Closing employers46,795Transition from employees to no employees

Change in active employers1,247From the preceding month · seasonally adjusted

The opening rate is 5.07% and the closing rate is 4.99%. Each is calculated as the current month’s count divided by the preceding month’s active count, 937,704. These are Countability’s count-based rates, not a separate published rate series.

Active employer businesses, Canada

Businesses · seasonally adjusted

Some observations carry issuer quality warnings. The following data table identifies each affected period.

Data: Active employer businesses, Canada

Data: Active employer businesses, Canada
Period	Businesses · seasonally adjusted	Source quality
2015-01	870,074	No flag
2015-02	872,346	No flag
2015-03	874,296	No flag
2015-04	874,990	No flag
2015-05	877,874	No flag
2015-06	876,485	No flag
2015-07	879,082	No flag
2015-08	880,757	No flag
2015-09	878,856	No flag
2015-10	880,236	No flag
2015-11	881,002	No flag
2015-12	878,682	No flag
2016-01	890,435	Use with caution
2016-02	880,129	No flag
2016-03	879,629	No flag
2016-04	882,255	No flag
2016-05	881,281	No flag
2016-06	881,447	No flag
2016-07	881,150	No flag
2016-08	881,019	No flag
2016-09	880,469	No flag
2016-10	880,924	No flag
2016-11	881,359	No flag
2016-12	884,015	No flag
2017-01	886,143	No flag
2017-02	889,214	No flag
2017-03	884,227	No flag
2017-04	885,781	No flag
2017-05	888,948	No flag
2017-06	892,660	No flag
2017-07	888,705	No flag
2017-08	890,798	No flag
2017-09	893,264	No flag
2017-10	891,845	No flag
2017-11	892,760	No flag
2017-12	892,484	No flag
2018-01	893,198	No flag
2018-02	895,351	No flag
2018-03	896,388	No flag
2018-04	897,628	No flag
2018-05	894,664	No flag
2018-06	900,087	No flag
2018-07	900,155	No flag
2018-08	897,641	No flag
2018-09	898,692	No flag
2018-10	899,548	No flag
2018-11	899,292	No flag
2018-12	899,554	No flag
2019-01	899,136	No flag
2019-02	900,566	No flag
2019-03	903,396	No flag
2019-04	904,605	No flag
2019-05	906,084	No flag
2019-06	906,927	No flag
2019-07	908,008	No flag
2019-08	909,176	No flag
2019-09	907,825	No flag
2019-10	906,894	No flag
2019-11	905,229	No flag
2019-12	906,918	No flag
2020-01	904,350	Use with caution
2020-02	903,201	No flag
2020-03	873,816	Use with caution
2020-04	816,303	No flag
2020-05	793,200	No flag
2020-06	799,847	Use with caution
2020-07	821,263	No flag
2020-08	836,971	No flag
2020-09	852,656	No flag
2020-10	862,502	No flag
2020-11	863,948	No flag
2020-12	878,525	Use with caution
2021-01	883,014	No flag
2021-02	887,756	No flag
2021-03	893,373	No flag
2021-04	892,888	No flag
2021-05	893,602	No flag
2021-06	893,075	No flag
2021-07	901,561	No flag
2021-08	903,641	No flag
2021-09	905,250	No flag
2021-10	909,228	No flag
2021-11	911,875	No flag
2021-12	913,845	No flag
2022-01	918,597	No flag
2022-02	919,968	No flag
2022-03	922,645	No flag
2022-04	925,534	No flag
2022-05	926,289	No flag
2022-06	926,749	No flag
2022-07	927,736	No flag
2022-08	928,091	No flag
2022-09	928,831	No flag
2022-10	928,555	No flag
2022-11	928,157	No flag
2022-12	930,351	No flag
2023-01	935,150	No flag
2023-02	934,916	No flag
2023-03	929,906	No flag
2023-04	928,458	No flag
2023-05	933,131	No flag
2023-06	934,929	No flag
2023-07	934,035	No flag
2023-08	935,200	No flag
2023-09	933,877	No flag
2023-10	934,949	No flag
2023-11	936,336	No flag
2023-12	936,117	No flag
2024-01	939,057	No flag
2024-02	939,561	No flag
2024-03	939,815	No flag
2024-04	938,811	No flag
2024-05	939,494	No flag
2024-06	936,800	No flag
2024-07	937,755	No flag
2024-08	936,848	No flag
2024-09	937,091	No flag
2024-10	937,543	No flag
2024-11	936,309	No flag
2024-12	938,230	No flag
2025-01	938,303	No flag
2025-02	938,460	No flag
2025-03	938,426	No flag
2025-04	938,116	No flag
2025-05	938,311	No flag
2025-06	938,329	No flag
2025-07	938,266	No flag
2025-08	938,313	No flag
2025-09	939,634	No flag
2025-10	937,844	No flag
2025-11	938,406	No flag
2025-12	937,752	No flag
2026-01	936,361	No flag
2026-02	936,213	No flag
2026-03	936,024	No flag
2026-04	937,570	No flag
2026-05	937,704	No flag
2026-06	938,951	No flag

Openings minus closures is 761, while the active count changes by 1,247. The difference is 486. Seasonal adjustment and the construction of these separate series mean their rounded values need not form an exact accounting identity. The discrepancy is retained.

Monthly national employer record

Monthly national employer record
Month	Active	Monthly change	Annual change (%)	Openings	Closures	Opening rate (%)	Closing rate (%)	Entrants
2015-01	870,074	Not published · No record	Not published · No record	42,422	36,132	Not published · No record	Not published · No record	17,633
2015-02	872,346	2,272	Not published · No record	42,576	36,658	4.89	4.21	16,731
2015-03	874,296	1,950	Not published · No record	38,921	36,088	4.46	4.14	16,105
2015-04	874,990	694	Not published · No record	40,080	39,125	4.58	4.48	16,905
2015-05	877,874	2,884	Not published · No record	40,869	36,576	4.67	4.18	14,869
2015-06	876,485	-1,389	Not published · No record	37,543	39,085	4.28	4.45	13,493
2015-07	879,082	2,597	Not published · No record	41,334	38,241	4.72	4.36	16,790
2015-08	880,757	1,675	Not published · No record	39,594	37,223	4.50	4.23	14,999
2015-09	878,856	-1,901	Not published · No record	33,147	38,014	3.76	4.32	12,694
2015-10	880,236	1,380	Not published · No record	41,214	39,083	4.69	4.45	16,851
2015-11	881,002	766	Not published · No record	43,110	38,529	4.90	4.38	16,245
2015-12	878,682	-2,320	Not published · No record	38,155	39,329	4.33	4.46	17,774
2016-01	890,435 · Use with caution	11,753 · Use with caution	2.34 · Use with caution	42,678	38,188	4.86	4.35	16,505
2016-02	880,129	-10,306 · Use with caution	0.89	40,023	46,530	4.49 · Use with caution	5.23 · Use with caution	15,193
2016-03	879,629	-500	0.61	40,835	40,487	4.64	4.60	15,440
2016-04	882,255	2,626	0.83	41,857	39,131	4.76	4.45	15,810
2016-05	881,281	-974	0.39	39,991	39,753	4.53	4.51	15,816
2016-06	881,447	166	0.57	38,075	38,041	4.32	4.32	13,051
2016-07	881,150	-297	0.24	44,580	44,540	5.06	5.05	17,515
2016-08	881,019	-131	0.03	40,405	40,800	4.59	4.63	16,220
2016-09	880,469	-550	0.18	36,666	39,777	4.16	4.51	13,014
2016-10	880,924	455	0.08	41,976	41,230	4.77	4.68	16,173
2016-11	881,359	435	0.04	47,360	41,960	5.38	4.76	19,353
2016-12	884,015	2,656	0.61	42,166	40,377	4.78	4.58	16,124
2017-01	886,143	2,128	-0.48 · Use with caution	40,154	41,382	4.54	4.68	15,494
2017-02	889,214	3,071	1.03	41,286	37,050	4.66	4.18	16,274
2017-03	884,227	-4,987	0.52	41,108	44,996	4.62	5.06	16,449
2017-04	885,781	1,554	0.40	41,450	40,217	4.69	4.55	15,378
2017-05	888,948	3,167	0.87	41,939	35,906	4.73	4.05	15,433
2017-06	892,660	3,712	1.27	43,245	40,658	4.86	4.57	17,033
2017-07	888,705	-3,955	0.86	37,105	41,528	4.16	4.65	13,147
2017-08	890,798	2,093	1.11	42,451	40,343	4.78	4.54	15,471
2017-09	893,264	2,466	1.45	42,727	42,141	4.80	4.73	16,465
2017-10	891,845	-1,419	1.24	39,318	41,256	4.40	4.62	15,971
2017-11	892,760	915	1.29	38,689	34,100	4.34	3.82	11,800 · Use with caution
2017-12	892,484	-276	0.96	41,032	41,484	4.60	4.65	14,733
2018-01	893,198	714	0.80	40,504	41,143	4.54	4.61	15,149
2018-02	895,351	2,153	0.69	41,762	39,580	4.68	4.43	16,040
2018-03	896,388	1,037	1.38	43,003	41,632	4.80	4.65	16,421
2018-04	897,628	1,240	1.34	40,562	39,999	4.53	4.46	15,447
2018-05	894,664	-2,964	0.64	40,388	42,199	4.50	4.70	15,736
2018-06	900,087	5,423	0.83	45,851	41,396	5.12	4.63	15,726
2018-07	900,155	68	1.29	39,931	39,658	4.44	4.41	12,344
2018-08	897,641	-2,514	0.77	42,156	46,138	4.68	5.13	16,926
2018-09	898,692	1,051	0.61	42,612	42,712	4.75	4.76	15,030
2018-10	899,548	856	0.86	43,132	42,416	4.80	4.72	15,396
2018-11	899,292	-256	0.73	59,075 · Use with caution	52,518	6.57 · Use with caution	5.84	28,603 · Use with caution
2018-12	899,554	262	0.79	41,772	42,910	4.64	4.77	15,498
2019-01	899,136	-418	0.66	42,699	42,622	4.75	4.74	15,194
2019-02	900,566	1,430	0.58	42,629	42,234	4.74	4.70	15,245
2019-03	903,396	2,830	0.78	43,072	40,435	4.78	4.49	15,226
2019-04	904,605	1,209	0.78	42,077	42,019	4.66	4.65	14,253
2019-05	906,084	1,479	1.28	44,194	43,148	4.89	4.77	15,647
2019-06	906,927	843	0.76	44,704	43,251	4.93	4.77	17,345
2019-07	908,008	1,081	0.87	43,328	41,465	4.78	4.57	14,977
2019-08	909,176	1,168	1.29	40,719	40,186	4.48	4.43	14,162
2019-09	907,825	-1,351	1.02	41,088	42,616	4.52	4.69	15,802
2019-10	906,894	-931	0.82	40,568	41,590	4.47	4.58	13,956
2019-11	905,229	-1,665	0.66	41,756	40,211	4.60	4.43	14,523
2019-12	906,918	1,689	0.82	41,793	40,512	4.62	4.48	15,233
2020-01	904,350 · Use with caution	-2,568 · Use with caution	0.58 · Use with caution	41,592 · Use with caution	41,543 · Use with caution	4.59 · Use with caution	4.58 · Use with caution	15,099 · Use with caution
2020-02	903,201	-1,149 · Use with caution	0.29	36,650	38,807	4.05 · Use with caution	4.29 · Use with caution	12,751
2020-03	873,816 · Use with caution	-29,385 · Use with caution	-3.27 · Use with caution	34,697	57,060	3.84	6.32	10,634
2020-04	816,303	-57,513 · Use with caution	-9.76	37,261	110,289	4.26 · Use with caution	12.62 · Use with caution	11,509
2020-05	793,200	-23,103	-12.46	47,947	77,809	5.87	9.53	8,196
2020-06	799,847 · Use with caution	6,647 · Use with caution	-11.81 · Use with caution	61,792 · Use with caution	56,989 · Use with caution	7.79 · Use with caution	7.18 · Use with caution	11,680
2020-07	821,263	21,416 · Use with caution	-9.55	64,181	35,832	8.02 · Use with caution	4.48 · Use with caution	13,261
2020-08	836,971	15,708	-7.94	50,110 · Use with caution	29,744	6.10 · Use with caution	3.62	11,839
2020-09	852,656	15,685	-6.08	49,335	33,269	5.89	3.97	14,778 · Use with caution
2020-10	862,502	9,846	-4.89	49,237	35,519	5.77	4.17	16,512
2020-11	863,948	1,446	-4.56	47,053	41,568	5.46	4.82	20,954
2020-12	878,525 · Use with caution	14,577 · Use with caution	-3.13 · Use with caution	47,331	36,759	5.48	4.25	15,959
2021-01	883,014	4,489 · Use with caution	-2.36 · Use with caution	44,565	39,424	5.07 · Use with caution	4.49 · Use with caution	16,503
2021-02	887,756	4,742	-1.71	44,592	40,544	5.05	4.59	16,626
2021-03	893,373	5,617	2.24 · Use with caution	44,784	39,227	5.04	4.42	16,883
2021-04	892,888	-485	9.38	41,763	41,489	4.67	4.64	17,307
2021-05	893,602	714	12.66	38,654	39,109	4.33	4.38	13,609
2021-06	893,075	-527	11.66 · Use with caution	43,043	41,162	4.82	4.61	16,872
2021-07	901,561	8,486	9.78	46,002	36,155	5.15	4.05	15,211
2021-08	903,641	2,080	7.97	41,329	40,110	4.58	4.45	15,456
2021-09	905,250	1,609	6.17	41,962	41,675	4.64	4.61	15,654
2021-10	909,228	3,978	5.42	43,452	39,557	4.80	4.37	15,993
2021-11	911,875	2,647	5.55	44,058	40,869	4.85	4.49	15,967
2021-12	913,845	1,970	4.02 · Use with caution	42,881	42,723	4.70	4.69	15,941
2022-01	918,597	4,752	4.03	43,826	40,506	4.80	4.43	16,203
2022-02	919,968	1,371	3.63	46,178	45,163	5.03	4.92	18,610
2022-03	922,645	2,677	3.28	45,209	42,740	4.91	4.65	17,697
2022-04	925,534	2,889	3.66	44,098	39,037	4.78	4.23	16,145
2022-05	926,289	755	3.66	42,510	43,069	4.59	4.65	15,522
2022-06	926,749	460	3.77	42,832	40,218	4.62	4.34	15,875
2022-07	927,736	987	2.90	44,526	43,461	4.80	4.69	17,447
2022-08	928,091	355	2.71	43,868	43,799	4.73	4.72	17,059
2022-09	928,831	740	2.60	42,776	42,828	4.61	4.61	15,631
2022-10	928,555	-276	2.13	43,200	43,927	4.65	4.73	16,957
2022-11	928,157	-398	1.79	42,723	42,981	4.60	4.63	16,335
2022-12	930,351	2,194	1.81	43,037	40,713	4.64	4.39	15,729
2023-01	935,150	4,799	1.80	43,813	41,056	4.71	4.41	16,617
2023-02	934,916	-234	1.62	42,611	43,404	4.56	4.64	16,454
2023-03	929,906	-5,010	0.79	39,797	44,072	4.26	4.71	15,699
2023-04	928,458	-1,448	0.32	44,815	44,683	4.82	4.81	16,280
2023-05	933,131	4,673	0.74	47,126	42,793	5.08	4.61	17,243
2023-06	934,929	1,798	0.88	45,500	43,224	4.88	4.63	16,913
2023-07	934,035	-894	0.68	40,641	41,869	4.35	4.48	14,005
2023-08	935,200	1,165	0.77	44,519	43,127	4.77	4.62	16,480
2023-09	933,877	-1,323	0.54	44,053	46,141	4.71	4.93	16,941
2023-10	934,949	1,072	0.69	44,008	43,116	4.71	4.62	15,889
2023-11	936,336	1,387	0.88	42,762	41,404	4.57	4.43	15,341
2023-12	936,117	-219	0.62	44,394	43,388	4.74	4.63	16,743
2024-01	939,057	2,940	0.42	45,238	43,339	4.83	4.63	16,386
2024-02	939,561	504	0.50	44,337	43,929	4.72	4.68	16,376
2024-03	939,815	254	1.07	43,599	43,226	4.64	4.60	15,590
2024-04	938,811	-1,004	1.12	44,569	44,376	4.74	4.72	16,491
2024-05	939,494	683	0.68	45,064	44,425	4.80	4.73	16,472
2024-06	936,800	-2,694	0.20	44,030	46,094	4.69	4.91	15,625
2024-07	937,755	955	0.40	43,937	41,844	4.69	4.47	13,194
2024-08	936,848	-907	0.18	44,838	45,931	4.78	4.90	17,164
2024-09	937,091	243	0.34	46,065	46,249	4.92	4.94	14,970
2024-10	937,543	452	0.28	45,476	45,622	4.85	4.87	15,056
2024-11	936,309	-1,234	-0.00	46,370	47,381	4.95	5.05	15,820
2024-12	938,230	1,921	0.23	48,930	47,442	5.23	5.07	17,266
2025-01	938,303	73	-0.08	44,519	44,980	4.74	4.79	15,123
2025-02	938,460	157	-0.12	44,096	44,168	4.70	4.71	14,258
2025-03	938,426	-34	-0.15	44,458	44,476	4.74	4.74	14,551
2025-04	938,116	-310	-0.07	44,611	44,140	4.75	4.70	16,669
2025-05	938,311	195	-0.13	45,167	45,203	4.81	4.82	14,985
2025-06	938,329	18	0.16	44,441	43,866	4.74	4.67	14,702
2025-07	938,266	-63	0.05	47,913	46,515	5.11	4.96	16,623
2025-08	938,313	47	0.16	44,495	45,031	4.74	4.80	13,367
2025-09	939,634	1,321	0.27	45,350	43,953	4.83	4.68	15,738
2025-10	937,844	-1,790	0.03	42,120	46,142	4.48	4.91	15,371
2025-11	938,406	562	0.22	46,505	45,688	4.96	4.87	14,762
2025-12	937,752	-654	-0.05	46,234	45,843	4.93	4.89	15,114
2026-01	936,361	-1,391	-0.21	46,309	47,106	4.94	5.02	14,894
2026-02	936,213	-148	-0.24	47,040	46,843	5.02	5.00	15,377
2026-03	936,024	-189	-0.26	47,563	47,576	5.08	5.08	16,945
2026-04	937,570	1,546	-0.06	47,449	45,547	5.07	4.87	15,138
2026-05	937,704	134	-0.06	46,314	46,834	4.94	5.00	14,751
2026-06	938,951	1,247	0.07	47,556	46,795	5.07	4.99	15,802

Source: Statistics Canada — Experimental estimates for business openings and closures. Experimental monthly estimates, January 2015–June 2026. Business sector industries, Canada. Active means at least one employee; businesses without employees are outside this population.

Where institutions disagree

No institutional disagreement is registered directly under this question.

What cannot yet be known

Evidence gap

Is Canada renewing its business base?

What is missing: The released aggregates do not connect the same firms through employer entry or exit, borrowing, credit applications and formal insolvency. Their populations, periods and seasonal treatment differ; current permanent exits are unavailable.

Consequence: Read employer activity, financial conditions and distress together while keeping their populations distinct. A useful assessment needs both the national trajectory and the geography, industry, size and reporting-lag detail behind it.

What would close it: Compatible, privacy-preserving released cohort tables with stable definitions, comparable employment and credit populations, known reporting lags and the uncertainty needed to assess relationships.

What would change the record

Compatible, privacy-preserving released cohort tables with stable definitions, comparable employment and credit populations, known reporting lags and the uncertainty needed to assess relationships.
Statistics Canada publishes employer dynamics through May 2026 — 2026-08-28.

This page brings together the evidence, institutional disagreements and gaps behind a continuing question. Where the record supports an answer, it appears with its date, sources, limits, Brief and Receipt. New evidence can change that answer.

Related on this site

This page holds the current public record for this question. For a more specific question, see Work with Countability.

Work with Countability