As the Government of Canada implements its ‘Build Canada Better’ and its new industrial strategy, the scale of transformation is enormous. Major investments in infrastructure, trade diversification, climate resilience, mining and digital transformation signal one of the most significant nation-building moments in decades. But as Dr. Wendy Cukier, Founder and Academic Director of the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (WEKH), argues, a critical question remains: who will build it?
Women entrepreneurs already play a central role in Canada’s economy. Women are majority owners of 20% of Canadian firms. Women-led SMEs generate more than $90 billion in annual revenues, employ close to one million people. They are as likely to export as men, and d outperform in non-U.S. markets such as the U.K., India and Brazil. And, as we seek to find the leaders to help attain Canada’s ambitious nation building strategy, while women entrepreneurs and women-owned companies are concentrated in services sectors, they are gaining significant ground in traditionally man-dominated sectors like construction and manufacturing. Majority women-owned SMEs have doubled their presence in construction and grew by nearly two-thirds in manufacturing and resource-linked industries since 2017.
Yet opportunity does not guarantee inclusion. In cleantech, only 3% of firms are majority women-owned, despite women leading 18% of companies at the R&D stage and delivering higher returns on investment. Without intentional strategies, measurable targets and transparent procurement pathways, women-owned businesses risk being sidelined as large-scale investments accelerate.
Access to customers—not just capital—is transformative. Women-owned SMEs may not lead $3-billion megaprojects, but they can and must be embedded throughout supply chains as tier-one and tier-two suppliers.
A gender lens is not about equity alone. Women entrepreneurs are strong adopters of digital tools, leaders in sustainable practices, and key drivers of export growth—particularly immigrant women, whom Dr. Cukier calls “Canada’s superpower.” Embedding gender and diversity considerations across procurement, innovation and trade is essential to ensuring that Canada’s industrial strategy delivers inclusive, resilient and globally competitive growth.
