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Of all the major small business sectors in Canada, Professional, Scientific & Technical Services, Wholesale Trade and Crop Production will experience the most growth over the next five years, according to a new economic study released today by BMO Financial Group.

The study, entitled A Sectoral View of Small Business in Canada, explores the small business structure of Canada’s industries, and identifies the sectors with the highest prospects for growth in small business output. The study is the second in a series and builds on the research featured in a previous report called In Search of Canada’s Small Business Hotbeds.

“These extremely positive findings reinforce our belief that small business will remain the backbone of the Canadian economy,” said Michael Gregory, Assistant Chief Economist, BMO Financial Group.

The report ranks industry sectors based on their having both relatively high concentrations of small businesses and relatively strong growth prospects. In addition to the sectoral leaders, other top sectors include Administrative and Support Services, Retail Trade and Motion Picture & Sound Recording. The lowest ranked sectors, with relatively low concentrations of small businesses and weak growth prospects, include Leather and Allied Products, Textile and Textile Products Mills, and Transportation Equipment Manufacturing.

“This study reconfirms that small businesses will continue to achieve strong growth levels and will generate opportunities across a broad range of industry sectors and communities,” said Kathleen O’Neill, Executive Vice-President, Business Banking, BMO Financial Group.

The study also assesses the impact of these small business sectoral outlooks on 25 census metropolitan areas (CMAs) with populations of at least 100,000 and on 111 census agglomerations (CAs) with populations of at least 10,000.

“Calgary’s local industrial structure, with its large representation of small firms in fast-growing sectors such as Professional, Scientific & Technical Services, should push small business output up by nearly 23 per cent alone over the next five years, topping the list of large areas,” said Gregory.  “In addition, Calgary will experience small business expansion induced by population growth.”

Of the other CMAs, Toronto, Ottawa-Hull, Vancouver, Edmonton and Montreal also stand out as exemplary small business centres, with average output growth rates exceeding 21 per cent. In the CAs, small business output is projected to see its strongest growth levels in Lloydminster, AB, at nearly 24 per cent over the next five years, followed by Fort St. John, BC and Grande Prairie, AB, with both above 22 per cent.

The full Sectoral View of Small Business in Canada report is available on the BMO Financial Group Economics Department’s web site at www.bmo.com/economic.

BMO Financial Group (TSX, NYSE: BMO), is one of the largest financial services providers in North America.  BMO Financial Group serves clients across Canada and in the United States through its Canadian retail arm, BMO Bank of Montreal, through its Chicago-based Harris Bank, a major U.S. mid-west financial services organization, and through BMO Nesbitt Burns, one of Canada’s leading full-service investment firms.  BMO Financial Group is the second largest small business lender in Canada and one of the largest in North America.

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