Business Dynamics & Ownership

Business dynamics shows the current and future health of the business sector. Statistics Canada releases monthly data on business openings and closures, as well as business conditions data four times a year. Business characteristics such ownership and size are also available from Statistics Canada.

Number of Active Business
Northwest Territories

		2023 Dec	Nov	Oct	Sep	Aug	Jul
Active Businesses	V1203707728	960	960	952	932	950	969
Opening Businesses	V1203707729	42	42	46	41	40	35
Continuing Businesses	V1203707730	921	920	906	891	909	930
Closing Businesses	V1203707731	40	32	29	62	60	39

During July and August 2023, Statistics Canada conducted the Canadian Survey on Business Conditions. This survey asked businesses across Canada about specific obstacles they expect to encounter in the next 3 months as well as their future operational expectations. This iteration also included questions on interprovincial business activities, environmental practices, and cybersecurity actions.

The following Excel tables show selected results for the Northwest Territories. Additional information can be found on Statistics Canada website.

• All tables
• Table 1 - Business or organization expectations over the next three months
• Table 2 - Business or organization obstacles over the next three months
• Table 3 - Most challenging obstacle for the business or organization over the next three months
• Table 4a - Business or organization expectations of how long supply chain obstacles will last
• 4b - Business or organization change in supply chain challenges over the last three months
• 4c - Business or organization expectations of change in supply chain challenges over the next three months
• Table 5a - Business or organization interprovincial activities conducted within Canada over the last 12 months
• 5b - Business purchasing or selling across provincial and territorial borders over the last 12 months, obstacles
• 5c - Business purchasing or selling across provincial and territorial borders over the last 12 months, impact of obstacles
• Table 6a - Environmental practices businesses or organizations have in place
• 6b - Environmental practices businesses or organizations plan to implement over the next 12 months
• 6c - Barriers businesses or organizations may face in adopting more green practices over the next 12 months
• Table 7a - Payment methods currently accepted or planned to be accepted over the next 12 months by businesses or organizations
• 7b - Reasons business or organization does not accept certain payment methods
• Table 8a - Business' or organization's plans to take any new or additional cybersecurity actions over the next 12 months
• 8b - Forms of misinformation or disinformation business or organization has been a victim of over the last 12 months
• 8c - Actions taken by businesses or organizations to reduce the impact of misinformation or disinformation on operations
• Table 9 - Liquidity and access to liquidity over the next three months
• Table 10 - Future outlook over the next 12 months

During April and May 2023, Statistics Canada conducted the Canadian Survey on Business Conditions. This survey asked businesses across Canada asked about their revenue in 2023, specific obstacles they expect to encounter in the next 3 months as well as their future operational expectations.

The following Excel tables show selected results for the Northwest Territories. Additional information can be found on Statistics Canada website.

• All tables
• Table 1 - Business or organization expectations over the next three months
• Table 2 - Business or organization obstacles over the next three months
• 2a - Most challenging obstacle for the business or organization over the next three months
• 2b - Business or organization expected impacts of labour-related obstacles over the next three months
• 2c - Businesses Citing Supply Chain Challenges as an Obstacle, Length of Time
• 2d - Businesses Citing Supply Chain Challenges as an Obstacle, Change in Challenges Over the last three month
• 2e - Businesses Citing Supply Chain Challenges as an Obstacle, Expectations
• 2f - Businesses Citing Supply Chain Challenges as an Obstacle, Plans to Adjust Supply Chain Over the next 12 months
• 2g - Businesses Citing Supply Chain Challenges as an Obstacle, Response to Expected Difficulties Maintaining Inventory Levels
• Table 3 - Business or organization hired workers from another country through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program in the last 12 months
• Table 4 - Current or planned tasks regarding recruitment, retention and training over the next 12 months
• Table 5 - Liquidity and access to liquidity over the next three months
• Table 6 - Future outlook over the next 12 months

During January and February 2023, Statistics Canada conducted the Canadian Survey on Business Conditions. This survey asked businesses across Canada asked about their revenue in 2022, specific obstacles they expect to encounter in the next 3 months as well as their future operational expectations.

The following Excel tables show selected results for the Northwest Territories. Additional information can be found on Statistics Canada website.

• All tables
• Table 1 - Business or organization expectations over the next three months
• Table 2 - Business or organization obstacles over the next three months
• 2a - Expectations over the next three months as a result of increased interest rates
• 2b - Level of impact of challenges with recruiting and retaining staff over the next three months
• 2c - Business or organization expectations of how long supply chain obstacles will last
• 2d - Business or organization change in supply chain challenges over the last three months
• 2e - Business or organization expectations of change in supply chain challenges over the next three months
• Table 8 - The 2022 revenues compared with 2021 revenues
• Table 9 - Percentage and average percentage of total sales made online in 2022
• Table 10 - Expectations to increase prices for goods and services offered by business or organization over the next 12 months
• Table 11 - Change in average wages expected over the next 12 months
• Table 12 - Current or planned tasks regarding recruitment, retention and training over the next 12 months
• Table 13 - Future outlook over the next 12 months
• Table 14 - Average percentage of women and men in management positions

During October and November 2022, Statistics Canada conducted the Canadian Survey on Business Conditions. This survey asked businesses across Canada about their current business expectations on a variety of topics.

The following Excel tables show selected results for the Northwest Territories. Additional information can be found on Statistics Canada website.

• All tables
• Table 1 - Business or organization expectations over the next three months
• Table 2 - Business or organization obstacles over the next three months
• Table 3 - Business or organization challenges with recruiting and retaining staff compared with 12 months ago
• Table 4 - Business or organization expectations of how long supply chain obstacles will last
• Table 5 - Business or organization change in supply chain challenges over the last three months
• Table 6 - Business or organization expectations of change in supply chain challenges over the next three months
• Table 7 - Business or organization plans to adjust supply chain over the next 12 months
• Table 8 - Business' or organization's response to expected difficulties maintaining inventory levels
• Table 9 - Likelihood of business or organization to pass on any increases in its costs to customers over the next 12 months
• Table 10 - Change in average wages expected over the next 12 months
• Table 11 - Extent the business or organization considers inflation when setting wages and salaries
• Table 12 - Current or planned tasks regarding recruitment, retention and training over the next 12 months
• Table 13 - Ability for the business or organization to take on more debt
• Table 14 - Current debt level of business or organization compared to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic
• Table 15 - Expected level of challenge business or organization has in repaying funding received from repayable government support programs put in place because of the COVID-19 pandemic
• Table 16 - Future outlook over the next 12 months

During July and August 2022, Statistics Canada conducted the Canadian Survey on Business Conditions. This survey asked businesses across Canada about their current business expectations on a variety of topics.

The following Excel tables show selected results for the Northwest Territories. Additional information can be found on Statistics Canada website.

• All tables
• Table 1 - Business or organization expectations over the next three months
• Table 2 - Business or organization obstacles over the next three months
• Table 3 - Business or organization challenges with recruiting and retaining staff compared with 12 months ago
• Table 4 - Business or organization expectations of how long supply chain obstacles will last
• Table 5 - Business or organization change in supply chain challenges over the last three months
• Table 6 - Business or organization expectations of change in supply chain challenges over the next three months
• Table 7 - Business or organization plans to adjust supply chain over the next 12 months
• Table 8 - Interprovincial activities conducted over the last 12 months
• Table 9 - Provinces businesses or organizations directly exported or imported goods or services to or from over the last 12 months
• Table 10 - Environmental practices currently in place or to be implemented by businesses or organizations over the next 12 months
• Table 11 - Languages used by the business or organization in providing services or performing activities over the last 12 months
• Table 12 - Level of challenge in meeting an increase in demand for the business or organization over the next 3 months
• Table 13 - Average yearly growth expected by businesses or organizations over the next three years
• Table 14 - Reasons business or organization is not expecting any growth over the next three years
• Table 15 - Ability for the business or organization to take on more debt
• Table 16 - Future outlook over the next 12 months

During April and May 2022, Statistics Canada conducted the Canadian Survey on Business Conditions. This survey asked businesses across Canada about their current business expectations on a variety of topics.

The following Excel tables show selected results for the Northwest Territories. Additional information can be found on Statistics Canada website.

• All tables
• Table 1 - Business or organization expectations over the next three months
• Table 2 - Business or organization obstacles over the next three months
• Table 3 - Business or organization expected impacts of labour-related obstacles over the next three months
• Table 4 - Business or organization challenges with recruiting and retaining staff compared with 12 months ago
• Table 5 - Business or organization expectations of how long supply chain obstacles will last
• Table 6 - Business or organization change in supply chain challenges over the last three months
• Table 7 - Business or organization expectations of change in supply chain challenges over the next three months
• Table 8 - Regions business or organization sourced inputs, products or supplies from over the last 12 months
• Table 9 - Business or organization plans to adjust supply chain over the next 12 months, by business characteristic
• Table 10 - Business or organization expectations of increases in energy expenses over the next three months
• Table 11 - Business or organization expectations of inflation to be a bigger issue when discussing wage increases with employees over the next 12 months
• Table 12 - Percentage and average percentage of total sales made online in 2021
• Table 13 - Investments in online sales and e-commerce capabilities over the next 12 months
• Table 14 - Business' or organization's plans to take any new or additional cybersecurity actions over the next 12 months
• Table 15 - New goods or services innovations, or any new business process innovations introduced since 2020
• Table 16 - Business or organization introducing innovations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic or the conditions it caused since 2020
• Table 17 - Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on business' or organization's activities related to innovation
• Table 18 - Ability for the business or organization to take on more debt
• Table 19 - Percentage of workforce anticipated to work on-site or remotely over the next three months
• Table 20 - Average percentage of workforce anticipated to work on-site or remotely over the next three months
• Table 21 - Business' or organization's current overall position compared with 2019

During January and February 2022, Statistics Canada conducted the Canadian Survey on Business Conditions. This survey asked businesses across Canada about their current business expectations on a variety of topics.

The following Excel tables show selected results for the Northwest Territories. Additional information can be found on Statistics Canada website.

• All tables
• Table 1 - Business or organization expectations over the next three months
• Table 2 - Business or organization obstacles over the next three months
• Table 3 - Business or organization expectations of how long various obstacles will last
• Table 4 - Change in supply chain challenges over the last three months, first quarter of 2022
• Table 5 - Business or organization expectations of supply chain challenges over the next three months
• Table 6 - Strategies business or organization uses to address supply chain challenges
• Table 7 - Business or organization plans to adjust supply chain over the next 12 months
• Table 8 - Likelihood of business or organization to pass on any increases in its costs to customers over the next 12 months
• Table 9 - Change in average wages expected over the next 12 months
• Table 10 - Average change in average wages expected over the next 12 months
• Table 11 - Plans regarding recruitment, retention and training over the next 12 months
• Table 12 - Liquidity and access to liquidity over the next three months
• Table 13 - Ability for the business or organization to take on more debt
• Table 14 - Percentage of workforce anticipated to work on-site or remotely over the next three months
• Table 15 - Average percentage of workforce anticipated to work on-site or remotely over the next three months
• Table 16 - Technology as a limiting factor in having more employees work remotely over the next three months
• Table 17 - Plans to adopt new or additional digital technologies over the next 12 months
• Table 18 - Future outlook for the business or organization over the next 12 months
• Table 19 - Revenues from 2021 compared with 2019
• Table 20 - Percentage of women and men in management positions
• Table 21 - Average percentage of women and men in management positions

During October and November 2021, Statistics Canada conducted the Canadian Survey on Business Conditions. This survey asked businesses across Canada about their current business expectations on a variety of topics.

The following Excel tables show selected results for the Northwest Territories. Additional information can be found on Statistics Canada website.

• All tables
• Table 1 - Business or organization expectations over the next 3 months
• Table 2 - Business or organization obstacles over the next 3 months
• Table 3 - Business or organization expectations of how long various obstacles will last
• Table 4 - Percentage of import purchases digitally ordered in the last 12 months
• Table 5 - Business or organization plans regarding recruitment, retention and training
• Table 6 - Expected impact of the absence of government support programs on the survival of business or organization
• Table 7 - Expected level of challenge business or organization has in repaying funding received from repayable government support programs put in place because of the COVID-19 pandemic
• Table 8 - Liquidity and access to liquidity over the next three months
• Table 9 - Ability for the business or organization to take on more debt
• Table 10 - Percentage of workforce anticipated to work on-site or telework over the next three months
• Table 11 - Business or organization status on reviewing cybersecurity policies in response to employees working remotely
• Table 12 - Average percentage of workforce anticipated to work on-site or telework over the next three months
• Table 13 - Future outlook over the next 12 months
• Table 14 - Sales expectations from October to December 2021 compared with October to December 2019