Blog Post
Back to all blog posts
StartupSource

A Look at Some of the Best and Worst Cities to Grow a Business

Posted in News

On Monday, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) released a study of the best, and worst, cities and locations to grow a business. The study, entitled "Entrepreneurial Communities: Canada's top places to start and grow businesses in 2015," ranks locations based on a criteria of three indicators: presence, perspective and policy. These indicators are primarily related to the location's governmental framework, local support and incentives for businesses, as well as opportunities for growth, as opposed to the volume of business that takes place.

Toronto moved up two spots from last year's overall rankings amongst major cities (populations over 150,000). As might be expected, Vancouver and Toronto ranked highest in the "entrepreneurial presence" category. Barrie cracked the top 10 overall ranking of major cities, after finishing 12th in 2014. Penticton and Grand Prairie were the top mid-sized cities. Quebec, on the other hand, did not fare so well, as Montreal and the Quebec City area were amongst some of the lowest-ranked cities, major or mid-sized, in the overall rankings. Montreal was ranked last in government policy, which includes factors such as local government tax balance, regulations and government sensitivity to local businesses. To see where your city ranks, visit the CFIB website.

Blog Posts