TORONTO, Oct. 21, 2013 /CNW/ - Saskatoon and the communities surrounding Calgary (Greater Calgary) are once again the best large Canadian communities in which to run a business, according to the 2013 Communities in Boom report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB). On this first day of Canada's Small Business Week, CFIB recognizes those communities that truly embrace entrepreneurship by creating an environment in which businesses can thrive.
"Growing communities raise property values, utilize infrastructure more effectively and provide residents with a greater range of economic and social opportunities," said Ted Mallett, CFIB Vice-President & Chief Economist. "While we recognize communities that do this well, it's important to acknowledge that all Canadian cities could do much better, particularly in addressing fairness issues around business property tax."
Historically, the highest scores in Communities in Boom have gone to urban areas that ring large urban cores (identified in the report as "Greater", as opposed to "City of", which identifies the cores themselves). Canada's prairie cities have also typically scored well.
2013 -Top 10 overall scores (/100), major cities (CMA population >150,000)
| 1. | Greater Calgary | 68 | ||
| 2. | Saskatoon | 67 | ||
| 3. | Greater Toronto | 65 | ||
| 4. | Greater Edmonton | 64 | ||
| 5. | Sherbrooke | 62 | ||
| 6. | City of Edmonton | 61 | ||
| 7. | Regina | 61 | ||
| 8. | Kelowna | 59 | ||
| 9. | St. John's | 58 | ||
| 10. | Saguenay | 58 | ||
Top mid-sized cities include Lloydminster, AB/SK; Red Deer, AB; Leamington, ON; Grande Prairie, AB and Rivière-du-Loup, QC. The annual report attempts to identify cities' relative entrepreneurial strengths and weaknesses, looking at 14 indicators applied to 3 main categories (Presence, Perspective and Policy), to arrive at a score out of 100.
"Some measures of what makes a "boom-town" are obvious, such as a high concentration of entrepreneurs and a high business start-up rate," added Mallett. "Other indicators are not as obvious, like the level of business optimism and supportive local government. Notice we have no hundreds on the board. These cities are leading the way, but even they can stand to improve in one area or another."
Read the full report, Communities in Boom: Canada's Top Entrepreneurial Cities, at www.cfib.ca.
CFIB is Canada's largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 109,000 members across every sector and region.
SOURCE: Canadian Federation of Independent Business
To arrange an interview with Ted Mallett, please call Gisele Lumsden at 416-222-8022 or by email at [email protected].
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