Canadian Indigenous Business Council and Canadian Chamber of Commerce Business Data Lab have launched the Indigenous Business Insights trackeran interactive table designed to give entrepreneurs, policy makers and Indigenous communities a clearer, data-driven picture of Indigenous economic participation in Canada.
tracker, hosted on the CCIB website and updated quarterly, drawing from Statistics Canada data combined with first-hand knowledge from Indigenous businesses. It describes the demographic distribution, business prospects, anticipated barriers and trade activity, including the volume of cross-border sales and expected tariff exposure.
“Indigenous businesses are now engaged in every sector of the Canadian economy,” says Matthew Foss, VP Research and Public Policy, CCIB. “It is vital that we measure this progress and strengthen the evidence base on Indigenous economic performance. By doing so, we can continue to tell the stories of Indigenous participation, highlighting the success stories alongside the remaining obstacles.”
Local entrepreneurs have historically been underserved by traditional data reporting, meaning investment, procurement and policy decisions are often made without accurate information about where local businesses actually operate and what they actually need.
“Combining Statistics Canada data with insights from Indigenous businesses, the dashboard provides a sharper and more nuanced view of how Indigenous entrepreneurs are navigating trade pressures and where opportunities exist to support continued growth,” says Jasleen Kaur Trehan, Economist, Business Data Lab, Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
“In a time of heightened uncertainty, having access to this kind of granular, community-informed data is not only useful, but essential.”
Domestic businesses trade across borders and operate in sectors from natural resources to professional services that are directly in the path of the current tariff cuts.
With the dashboard helping to close the data gap, it also gives Indigenous communities the ability to tell their economic story, with evidence behind it.
The last shots
- The Indigenous Business Insights Tracker is hosted on the CCIB website, updated quarterly and freely accessible to businesses, policy makers and communities.
- The panel covers trade activity, including cross-border sales values and expected tariff impacts, making it directly relevant to the current trade environment.
- Domestic businesses have historically been counted in standard economic data; this tracker combines Statistics Canada data with community-sourced knowledge to address it.
