That leaves more than $2 trillion in assets and a generation of retirements riding on a sale
Canadian small business owners rely significantly on the sale of their business as a source of retirement income, which makes obstacles to selling a problem for the owner and their family as well as for the business itself.
That assessment appears in Passing the Torch, a report the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) released in October, which finds that 6 percent of owners hold a formal written succession plan and 50 percent hold none at all.
Sixty-three percent of owners expect to exit within the next decade, and CFIB estimates the assets involved at more than $2tn.
It reached that figure by applying the 63 percent exit share to roughly $3.281tn in total assets held by incorporated SMEs, from a 2024 Statistics Canada special tabulation covering firms with revenues up to $25m.
Among owners aged 65 and older, 80 percent plan to leave within 10 years.
Retirement drives 78 percent of planned exits, the report states, with 21 percent citing burnout or stress and 20 percent citing high operating costs including tariffs, labour, inputs, financing, taxation and regulatory compliance.
Finding a buyer or suitable successor is the most cited barrier at 47 percent, followed by being too busy to plan and difficulty valuing the business at 37 percent each.
Of the owners who flagged valuation, 66 percent said they do not know what their business is worth and 42 percent did not know which professionals to approach.
Accountants are the main source of advice at 41 percent, according to CFIB, ahead of lawyers at 21 percent and personal financial advisors at 17 percent.
Succession support networks were used by 5 percent and financial institutions by 4 percent, while 38 percent of owners with a plan built it without outside help.
Among owners with a formal written plan, 86 percent expect a successful exit, including 48 percent who are very confident, against 54 percent and 13 percent respectively among owners with no plan.
Owners who acquired a business under a formal succession plan reported a very or somewhat smooth transition 81 percent of the time, compared with 69 percent across all acquisitions.
Selling to an unrelated buyer is the most common intention at 54 percent, selling to employees at 28 percent, selling to family at 21 percent and transferring to family without a sale at 19 percent.
Closure is the plan for 13 percent, rising to 17 percent among retailers.
Protecting current employees was rated important by 86 percent of owners, ahead of preserving the legacy at 80 percent and keeping the business Canadian-owned at 72 percent.
Awareness of Employee Ownership Trusts, introduced in Canada in 2024, stands at 8 percent, based on CFIB’s Your Voice Survey of 1,611 owners conducted in April.
Nineteen percent of owners with employees said they would be very or somewhat likely to consider an EOT sale, and 34 percent said the capital gains exemption was highly or somewhat relevant to that interest.
The federal government proposed making permanent the capital gains exemption of up to $10m on qualifying EOT sales in its Spring Economic Update 2026.
CFIB asks governments to raise awareness of EOTs, add a Business Succession Stream to entrepreneurship immigration pathways, introduce a 33 percent capital gains inclusion rate on the next $2m of gains beyond the Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption, and create a business transition marketplace modelled on Repreneuriat Québec.
“Many business owners count on selling their business to fund their retirement. If they can’t find a buyer, they may have to delay retiring or close the business altogether,” said Marvin Cruz, senior director of research at CFIB and co-author of the report.
