Indigenous Entrepreneurship in Northern and Remote Canada

There were 54,255 self-employed Indigenous peoples in Canada in 2016. However, there is still no definitive measure of Indigenous entrepreneurial activity. This primer is part of a broader research project examining the support systems available to Indigenous entrepreneurs in the North. The project findings were derived from an independent review of academic articles and grey literature reports. We also interviewed individuals from 16 organizations across a wide geographic area in Canada’s North and conducted a thematic analysis of the interviews. The purpose of this primer was to identify general trends in the current population of Indigenous entrepreneurs in Canada, the various reasons individual choose entrepreneurship, and the challenges Indigenous entrepreneurs face in the North. These objectives are the basis of this primer.