The Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (WEKH) convened a half-day Women Build Canada symposium in Ottawa last November, bringing together leaders across critical sectors, including construction, aviation, security, and engineering. From left to right: Marie St. Gelais, founder and president of Ashini Consultants Engineering; April Stone, founder and CEO of Indigenous Stone Corp (APL Protective Services); Teara Fraser, founder and CEO of Iskwew Air; Sherry Larjani, president of Spotlight Development Inc.; Jennifer Cross, co-founder of City BuildHers and Director of Regional Development (Eastern Ontario) at Chandos Construction; and Victoria Lennox, CEO of the Women’s Enterprise Organizations of Canada (WEOC).FRED CHARTRAND
Amid rising operating costs and trade shifts, the latest research from the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (WEKH) highlights women-owned businesses as vital engines of resilience and growth. Women now own more than 20 per cent of Canadian businesses and make up almost 40 per cent of self-employed Canadians. Women-led small and medium enterprises (SMEs) employ nearly one million and generate over $90-billion in revenues. With strategic support in digital transformation, trade diversification and scaling critical sectors, they can propel Canada’s economy forward despite challenges.
But that progress is not guaranteed. Recent gains remain vulnerable to mounting pressures at home and abroad.
Wendy Cukier Founder of the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (WEKH) and the Diversity Institute at Toronto Metropolitan UniversitySUPPLIED
Progress under pressure
WEKH’s State of Women’s Entrepreneurship in Canada (SOWE) has tracked the robust progress of women entrepreneurs since 2019. Today, majority women-owned businesses (51 per cent+ ownership) continue to represent 20 per cent of firms. Innovation remains a strength: 38 per cent of women-owned businesses report introducing innovations, compared with 25.6 per cent of men-owned firms.
Yet rising costs threaten the gains made. New tariffs introduced since 2025 have increased the price of materials and supplies, challenged retailers and prompted many businesses to rethink supply chains.
While access to financing has inched up to 27.4 per cent for women-owned SMEs, with a 92.2 per cent approval rate, loan amounts remain smaller (averaging $127,000) – and higher interest rates constrain expansion. Women-owned SMEs pay 13.7 per cent on lines of credit vs.10.4 per cent for men-owned SMEs. With higher rejection rates and narrowing debt ratios (41.6 per cent compared with 39 per cent in Q4 2025), the cost of borrowing continues to weigh more heavily on women entrepreneurs.
Sector breakthroughs, familiar challenges
Women are making inroads into sectors long dominated by men. Since 2020, representation in construction has doubled to 7.8 per cent, manufacturing has risen to 10 per cent, and agri-food, forestry and mining has reached 9.5 per cent. At the same time, growth in emerging industries is opening new opportunities. The global femtech market, for example, is projected to reach US$3.81-billion by 2030, reflecting expanding demand for innovations centred on women’s health and well-being.
This year’s forthcoming SOWE report further highlights the remarkable resilience women entrepreneurs have shown. Statistics Canada data suggest women entrepreneurs are adapting proactively to trade disruptions. In the third quarter of 2025, 15.2 per cent of majority women-owned businesses reported a major negative impact from U.S. tariffs, compared with 19.5 per cent of all businesses; 16.7 per cent reported minor impacts, compared with 17.6 per cent overall. Many responded by seeking alternative suppliers (13.5 per cent compared with 12.3 per cent of all businesses).
Women entrepreneurs are also leading on sustainability, with a significant proportion pursuing social or environmental goals. This orientation aligns closely with the expansion of clean technology, sustainable manufacturing and climate-related innovation, areas where Canada is seeking global leadership.
Strengthening trade and supply chains
The federal government’s Buy Canadian program encourages domestic sourcing and stronger interprovincial trade to reinforce supply chains in the face of U.S. tariffs. This is an opportunity for women entrepreneurs. Additionally, to address U.S. tariff pressures, the federal government has committed to doubling Canada’s non-U.S. exports over the next decade, a goal that underscores the growing export activity of women-owned SMEs. We know that 14.5 per cent of majority women‑owned SMEs exported goods or services, nearly matching the share of majority men‑owned SMEs at 15.3 per cent. Women‑owned SMEs are also more likely than men‑owned SMEs to export to non‑U.S. markets such as the U.K., India, Brazil and China.
Ensuring that procurement and trade programs incorporate a gender lens would further strengthen these efforts and broaden access to opportunity.
Closing the digital gap
While definitions of artificial intelligence (AI) adoption vary overall, Canada continues to lag on AI use. Women entrepreneurs trail men in uptake (12.3 per cent vs. 16.5 per cent), but women excel in software (35.8 per cent).
Recent federal measures in Budget 2025 and new sectoral industrial strategies signal progress. Even greater impact is possible from a continued gender lens when developing economic policy.
Policymakers must prioritize women to unlock growth. Women need to be at the table for decision-making, and we need to consider women in every aspect of our economic strategy, whether investments in major projects, trade expansion or the Buy Canadian Policy with transparency and accountability.
“Women now own more than 20 per cent of Canadian businesses and make up almost 40 per cent of self-employed Canadians. Women-led small and medium enterprises (SMEs) employ nearly one million and generate over $90-billion in revenues.
Second, all industrial sector strategies need to consider women, Indigenous Peoples and equity-deserving groups, whether in infrastructure, energy, critical minerals, defence, agriculture, AI or auto manufacturing. Third, we need to leverage procurement and community benefits to invest in women and their businesses – to unlock access to significant opportunities and remember that building customers is as important as accessing financing. Fourth, we need to bridge rather than exacerbate the digital divide. In particular, our AI adoption strategy needs to take into account the needs of women entrepreneurs.
We need to be bold in providing access to investments and capital as well as innovative microloan programs to support entrepreneurs at every stage of their journey. Finally, we need to harness evidenced-based approaches and strengthen the ecosystem by eroding fragmentation and replicating and scaling best practices.
Excluding women entrepreneurs hampers our ability to achieve our ambitious national goals. Women entrepreneurs create jobs, grow markets, advance sustainability and self-sufficiency, helping communities to thrive. Women entrepreneurs build Canada.
Learn more at wekh.ca
Advertising feature produced by Randall Anthony Communications with the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (WEKH) and the Diversity Institute. . The Globe’s editorial department was not involved.