Among smaller population areas, Lloydminster AB, Barrie ON, Grande
    Prairie AB and Collingwood ON have fastest growing small business sectors

    TORONTO, March 5 /CNW/ - The entrepreneurial spirit of Canadians is alive
and well according to a new study of 136 areas across the country. The BMO
Financial Group study, issued today, has determined that despite the recent
turbulent economic times, the number of small businesses across Canada
continued to grow during the 1998 to 2002 period by around three per cent.
    The report, "In Search of Canada's Small Business Hotbeds", examines 25
large population areas (Census Metropolitan Areas or CMAs) and 111 smaller
areas (Census Agglomerations or CAs), and ranks them based on the number of
small businesses per capita as well as by the level of new business growth
from 1998 to 2002.
    "This study confirms that entrepreneurship is thriving across the country
not only in large business centres but also in the smaller communities as
well," said Kathleen O'Neill, Executive Vice-President, Business Banking, BMO
Bank of Montreal. "The fact that over 95 per cent of the almost one million
businesses with payrolls operating in Canada are built and run by
entrepreneurs is a continued reminder that the economic health of small
business is crucial to the ongoing success of this country."
    The study found that, of the 25 CMAs studied (defined as metropolitan
areas with populations of more than 100,000), Calgary emerged as Canada's
small business leader having the highest number of small businesses per capita
(at 38.2 per 1000 population), as well as being the fastest growing business
center in the country. Since 1998, the number of small businesses in Calgary
has increased by 13.1 per cent. The next four fastest growing CMAs since 1998
were Edmonton (9.4 per cent growth), Oshawa (8.9 per cent growth), Ottawa-Hull
(7.5 per cent growth) and Kitchener (6.8 per cent growth).
    Of the 111 CAs with populations of at least 10,000, the fastest small
business growth areas in the country since 1998 are Lloydminster, Alberta, (up
27 per cent), Barrie, Ontario, (up 19.2 per cent), Grande Prairie, Alberta,
(up 17. 4 per cent), and Collingwood, Ontario, (up 13.6 per cent). Of these
four, Grande Prairie and Lloydminster are also among the leaders in overall CA
per capita rankings with 48.1 and 45.2 small business operations per 1000
population respectively. Whitehorse is the overall CA leader in per capita
number of businesses with 49.8 per 1000 residents.
    The study also examined the market structure of industries across the
country and finds that small businesses predominate in certain sectors. For
example, 99 per cent of businesses in the Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, and
Hunting sector have under 50 employees. The Professional, Scientific, and
Technical Services sector and the Construction sector also have a high degree
of small businesses. Not surprisingly, the lowest concentration of small
businesses is found in the Public Administration, Utilities and Manufacturing
sectors.

    <<
    Canada's Small Business Hotbeds

                                  Payroll Enterprises
    Rank      CMA           Prov    (per 1000 pop.)
     1     Calgary           AB          38.2
     2     Edmonton          AB          35.6
     3     Vancouver         BC          34.7
     4     Victoria          BC          32.5
     5     Saskatoon         SK          30.7

                                   Growth in Payroll
    Rank      CMA           Prov      Enterprises
     1     Calgary           AB          13.1%
     2     Edmonton          AB           9.4%
     3     Oshawa            ON           8.9%
     4     Ottawa - Hull    ON/QC         7.5%
     5     Kitchener         ON           6.8%

                                  Payroll Enterprises
    Rank       CA           Prov    (per 1000 pop.)
     1     Whitehorse        YK          49.8
     2     Grande Prairie    AB          48.1
     3     Fort St. John     BC          45.8
     4     Swift Current     SK          45.3
     5     Lloydminster      AB          45.2
     6     Terrace           BC          41.9
     7     Williams Lake     BC          41.7
     8     Grand Centre      AB          41.1
     9     Riviere-du-Loup   QC          40.8
     10    Charlottetown     PE          40.8

                                   Growth in Payroll
    Rank       CA           Prov      Enterprises
     1     Lloydminster      AB          27.0%
     2     Barrie            ON          19.2%
     3     Grande Prairie    AB          17.4%
     4     Collingwood       ON          13.6%
     5     Medicine Hat      AB          11.3%
     6     Grand Centre      AB           9.8%
     7     Lethbridge        AB           9.4%
     8     Red Deer          AB           9.2%
     9     Guelph            ON           8.5%
     10    Midland           ON           8.0%

    The full "In Search of Canada's Small Business Hotbeds" study produced by
the BMO Financial Group Economics Department is available at
www.bmo.com/economic
    BMO Financial Group (NYSE, TSX: BMO) is one of the largest financial
services providers in North America. BMO serves clients across Canada and in
the United States through its Canadian retail arm, BMO Bank of Montreal,
through its Chicago-based Harris Bank, a major U.S. mid-west financial
services organization, and through BMO Nesbitt Burns, one of Canada's leading
full-service investment firms. BMO Financial Group is the second largest small
business lender in Canada and one of the largest in North America.

For further information: Contacts: Michael Edmonds (Toronto),
(416) 867-3996; Ron Monet (Montreal), (514) 877-1101; Laurie Grant 
(Vancouver), (604) 665-7596; Internet: www.bmo.com/economic