#790: GEM Report: Canada Takes Lead In Global Entrepreneurship

Each year GEM surveys 60 countries around the world to assess the state of entrepreneurship.

And there’s encouraging news for Canada.

Dr. Peter Josty is the executive director of THECIS, the Centre for Innovation Studies and he’s our representative for GEM Canada.

DR PETER JOSTY:  Well, definitely the most outstanding result is the fact that we are now ranked Number 1 among all the developed countries for entrepreneurship.  And this is the very first time that we’ve been in that position.   For the last couple of years we’ve been Number 2 or Number 3, but this year we have surpassed the US and we have more entrepreneurs in Canada in startups than they have in the United States.   A big part of it is the fact that our rate of female entrepreneurship is much higher now than we’ve seen in the past, and it’s much higher than in other countries.   In fact, if you look at the rates, comparing males and females, the rate of female entrepreneurship is 84 percent of the male rate.

Dr. Peter Josty believes increasing support and mentorship for women going into business could be one reason behind the surge in Canadian female entrepreneurship.