[ RETURN TO WATCH LIST ]TRADE & DIVERSIFICATION • EXPORTERS • STATCAN 12-10-0091-01
[FIG 10] • FIRM-LEVEL EXPORT ANATOMY • STATCAN Tables 12-10-0091-01 & 12-10-0093-01 (Trade by Exporter Characteristics)
Exporter Depth & Firm-Level Scale Asymmetry
“How many Canadian enterprises actually trade, and how concentrated is firm-level export power?” — This tracker separates enterprise firm counts from dollar trade volume.
OBSERVATION: 2025 Annual Benchmark (Trade by Exporter Characteristics)
SOURCE RELEASE: 2026-04-24
RETRIEVED: 2026-09-20
[ STRICT ARCHITECTURAL SEPARATION ]: Do not combine enterprise counts with export dollar volume. Exactly 74.7% of exporting enterprises (35,814 firms) sell to only one foreign partner. However, total export value ($713.1B CAD) is highly concentrated. Just 50 large enterprises account for 50.8% of all Canadian export dollars.
EXPORTING ENTERPRISES
47,948
SME Share of Exporters:97.3%
46,644 SMEs vs 1,304 large enterprises
SINGLE-PARTNER FIRMS
74.7%
Single-Market Exporters:35,814 firms
3 in 4 exporters trade with only 1 country
TOP 50 ENTERPRISES SHARE
50.8%
Top 100 Enterprises:59.5% of $
Over $362B CAD generated by just 50 firms
LARGE ENTERPRISE WEIGHT
58.9%
Firm Count Share:Only 2.7% of firms
1,304 firms produce $420.2B CAD ($322M/firm)
EMPIRICAL DECOMPOSITION • STATCAN TRADE BY EXPORTER CHARACTERISTICS
Enterprise Firm Count vs. Dollar Value Distribution
FIRM AND VALUE COMPARISON: This chart compares enterprise counts to total dollar export shares. Most exporting firms generate low export revenue. A small group of large corporations accounts for more than half of all Canadian export dollars.
DISTRIBUTION BY NUMBER OF PARTNER COUNTRIES
Firms by Destination Breadth
1 Partner Country35,814 firms • $172.9B CAD
Firms:74.7%
Value:24.3%
2 Partner Countries4,164 firms • $254.1B CAD
Firms:8.7%
Value:35.6%
3 to 5 Partner Countries3,922 firms • $362.1B CAD
Firms:8.2%
Value:50.8%
6 to 9 Partner Countries1,745 firms • $424.2B CAD
Firms:3.6%
Value:59.5%
10 to 14 Partner Countries957 firms • $554.5B CAD
Firms:2.0%
Value:77.8%
15 to 19 Partner Countries493 firms • $603.1B CAD
Firms:1.0%
Value:84.6%
20 or More Partner Countries853 firms • $186.8B CAD
Firms:1.8%
Value:26.2%
DISTRIBUTION BY ENTERPRISE EMPLOYMENT SIZE
Firms by Workforce Headcount
Small (0 to 99 employees)Avg: $3.1M / firm
FIRM POPULATION
43,155
90.0% of all exporters
EXPORT VALUE
$132.9B
18.6% of total $
Medium (100 to 499 employees)Avg: $45.9M / firm
FIRM POPULATION
3,489
7.3% of all exporters
EXPORT VALUE
$160.0B
22.4% of total $
Large (500 or more employees)Avg: $322.3M / firm
FIRM POPULATION
1,304
2.7% of all exporters
EXPORT VALUE
$420.2B
58.9% of total $
PRIMARY DATASETS: STATCAN TABLES 12-10-0091-01 & 12-10-0093-01 • ANNUAL BENCHMARK
SOURCE: Statistics Canada (Table 12-10-0091-01 (Trade in Goods by Exporter Characteristics, by Enterprise Employment Size and Number of Partner Countries) & Table 12-10-0093-01 (Export Concentration))
LAST UPDATED OBSERVATION: 2025 Annual Benchmark (Trade by Exporter Characteristics)