Businesses operating in Greater Victoria

The change is 0.5% of the earlier value, below the 5% threshold.

A higher number means more businesses with employees are operating in the area. 11,394 active businesses in July 2026 compared with 11,332 in July 2025 (+0.5%). Over the 12 months to July 2026, about 5,821 businesses opened and 5,762 closed (monthly estimates added up here).

Outcome measures read Better, Worse or About the same; published government targets read Ahead of, On or Behind target; value-judgement measures read Rising, Falling or Steady in a neutral colour. A change smaller than the agency's own margin of error, or otherwise smaller than 5% of the earlier value, is About the same (or Steady). No change is calculated across a marked break in a series. The rule.

Why it matters. A growing number of businesses means more jobs and services. A downtown-only count is not published, so the regional figure is shown.

• Statistics Canada labels these as experimental estimates. A business is counted as active in a month if it reported one or more employees that month. Estimates are revised as new records arrive.
• Covers business-sector industries. An "opening" includes a seasonal business re-opening or a firm hiring again after a month with no employees, so openings and closings are not the same as new and permanently closed businesses.
• Businesses without employees, such as many sole owners, are not counted.
• The area is the Victoria census metropolitan area (Greater Victoria). A downtown-only figure is not published.
• Monthly openings and closings are seasonally adjusted estimates; the 12-month totals in the note are added up here and are approximate.

Area: Greater Victoria (CMA)

Statistics Canada’s Victoria metropolitan area: 13 municipalities plus nearby electoral-area and reserve lands.

Included

• Victoria
• Saanich
• Oak Bay
• Esquimalt
• View Royal
• Langford
• Colwood
• Highlands
• Metchosin
• Sooke
• Central Saanich
• North Saanich
• Sidney
• Juan de Fuca electoral area, part 1 (for example East Sooke, Jordan River and Shirley)
• First Nations reserves: Cole Bay 3, Union Bay 4, East Saanich 2, South Saanich 1, Becher Bay 1, Esquimalt, New Songhees 1A and T'Sou-ke

Not included

• Salt Spring Island
• Southern Gulf Islands (Galiano, Mayne, Pender and Saturna islands)
• Port Renfrew area (Juan de Fuca electoral area, part 2)

Official definition

• Statistics Canada: Victoria census metropolitan area (CMA 935), 2021 definition

How the agency describes it: Victoria census metropolitan area (Greater Victoria).

This number is published by the agency as shown; it is not calculated here. The script reads it from the agency’s own file.

Published under an open licence: anyone may reuse it with credit. About licences.

Published by

Statistics Canada, Business openings and closures (experimental estimates)

Licence

Open Government Licence - Canada

Updated by agency

Monthly; latest release Oct 29, 2026

Retrieved

Nov 11, 2026, 11:10 PM B.C. time

Adapted from Statistics Canada, table 33-10-0270-01. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.