The Entrepreneurial Climate in Canada: The Entrepreneur’s Viewpoint

This exploratory study examines the entrepreneurial climate in Canada from the perspective of the Canadian entrepreneur. The goal is to examine whether or not Canada offers a nutrient-rich environment for entrepreneurial development. Respondents believe that Canada has the infrastructure as well as the business support (suppliers and vendors) to assist entrepreneurial firms. They also suggest that Canadians are capable of seeing entrepreneurial opportunities and that there is substantial entrepreneurial talent in Canada, both men and women. However, entrepreneurs view the lack of cultural support and encouragement for entrepreneurship in Canada, the Canadian tax system, lack of capital, lack of entrepreneurial education, and a national aversion to failure as key impediments to entrepreneurial development in Canada. While some of hese barriers are amenable to changes in government policy and entrepreneurial education, the cultural impediments may be more intractable.

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