Immigrant-led SME Exporters in Canada

Canada has a large, diverse, and highly educated immigrant population that makes an important contribution to the Canadian economy. This study examines the contribution of immigrant-led businesses to Canada’s export performance and study find that Canada’s foreign-born population is more outward-looking than is the Canadian-born population. Businesses led by immigrants, despite being smaller on average, are much more likely to export and derive a greater share of revenue from exporting. They also tend to export further afield; relying less on the United States as a market and exporting to more diverse markets. It is therefore beneficial to the growth and diversification of Canadian exports that the number of immigrant-led exporters has grown at twice the rate of that of Canadian-born exporters. Immigrant-women-led business are of particular note, exporting at a far higher rate than business led by Canadian-born-women. This study reaffirms the important contribution of immigrant-led business to the Canadian economy and to Canada’s international trade performance.

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Dernière modification avril 17, 2026, 18:53 (TU)
Créé le avril 17, 2026, 18:53 (TU)
contact_email REA@international.gc.ca
criticality_level []
geographic_scope []
open_canada_collection publication
open_canada_date_published 2021-03-31 00:00:00
open_canada_keywords {"en": ["educated", "immigrant", "population", "Canadian economy", "businesses", "foreign-born", "export", "diversification", "immigrant-led business", "international trade"], "fr": ["instruits", "immigrant", "population", "économie canadienne", "entreprises", "né à l'étranger", "exporter", "diversification", "mené par des immigrants", "commerce international+H22"]}
open_canada_subject ["economics_and_industry", "government_and_politics", "transport"]
sensitivity_level unrestricted
title_fr PME exportatrices dirigées par des immigrants au Canada
update_frequency not_planned