Trends in Firm Entry and New Entrepreneurship in Canada

Since the early 1980s, the firm entry rate and the rate of new entrepreneurship have trended downward in Canada. This article documents these trends and discusses potential explanations. A shift-share analysis suggests that industrial and demographic structure changes cannot explain these long-term trends, although population aging accounts for part of the decline in new entrepreneurship since around 2000. The article discusses other factors that could contribute to the downward trends: increased industrial concentration, changing labour market conditions, increased college wage premium, higher student debt, and government regulation. Some of these may be important, but more research is needed before firm conclusions can be reached.