The governments of Canada and British Columbia today launched the Small Business Profile 2011, a report that highlights the major role that small businesses play in BC’s economic success, through job creation, wage increases, exports and contributions to the province’s gross domestic product.
The Small Business Profile has been produced for over a decade by Western Economic Diversification Canada, the Province and BC Stats, and is released to coincide with British Columbia’s Small Business Month, held in October, and Canada’s Small Business Week, October 16 to 22, 2011.
“The Government of Canada recognizes the value of small businesses and their contributions to our economy,
” said the Honourable Lynne Yelich, Minister for Western Economic Diversification. “The theme of this year’s Small Business Week is ‘Power up your business. Invest. Innovate. Grow.’ The Small Business Profile not only provides valuable insight on how small businesses across British Columbia are embracing the spirit of this theme, but also demonstrates their importance to western Canada as a whole.
”
“As the 2011 profile illustrates, we have an abundance of successful, thriving small businesses in BC, and they are an essential component of our Province’s economic success,
“ said the Honourable Pat Bell, Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation. “As laid out in our jobs plan, ‘Canada Starts Here: The BC Jobs Plan’, this government is freeing- up more access to venture capital and apprenticeship training tax credits to create an environment that encourages more businesses to innovate and create jobs.
”
This year’s publication has increased significance since 2011 has been declared as The Year of the Entrepreneur by the governments of Canada and British Columbia.
The profile illustrates that more British Columbians received wages last year from small business than anywhere else in Canada. Annual earnings for BC’s small business workers increased 14 per cent over the past five years, compared with an increase of 12 per cent for employees of larger businesses. Small businesses also provided nearly 57 per cent of all private-sector jobs in British Columbia, the second-highest rate in the country.
The report highlights the thousands of British Columbians who started their own small businesses in 2011, creating jobs for families and demonstrating a strong spirit of entrepreneurialism across the province. It also profiles eight small businesses from around British Columbia, and the hard-working people who founded them.
For a copy of the Small Business Profile, click here:
http://www.resourcecentre.gov.bc.ca/pdf/SmallBusProfileEngWeb.pdf
Media Contacts:
Jaime Burke
Manager, Communications
Western Economic Diversification Canada
604 666-1318
Caroline McAndrews
Communications Manager
Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation
250 356-0613
Connect with the Province of B.C. at www.gov.bc.ca/connect
WD Toll-Free Number:1-888-338-WEST (9378)
Teletypewriter (TTY): 1-877-303-3388
WD Website: www.wd-deo.gc.ca.
Subscribe to news releases and keep up-to-date on the latest from WD.
