The financial services sector has been a strong source of growth for the Canadian economy over the past decade. Beyond providing jobs and generating GDP, the sector also facilitates growth for other businesses in the economy, reveals a Conference Board of Canada report.

“Financial institutions provide consumers and businesses access to a diverse array of capital sources, which is an important driver of economic growth,” says Michael Burt, director of industrial trends at the Conference Board of Canada, in a release. “Canada’s financial institutions are effective in their roles as facilitators and are ranked among the top 10 globally when it comes to access to capital.”

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Report highlights

  • Financial services are a critical component of the Canadian economy, accounting for 4.4% of Canadian employment in 2015, at 791,000 jobs, and 6.8% of Canadian GDP.
  • Financial services’ share of employment, GDP, international trade and outward foreign direct investment (FDI) outpace the average for all sectors.
  • The sector accounted for 53% of Canada’s outward FDI in 2015. Financial services exports have more than doubled over the past decade, reaching $11.7 billion in 2015 — more than any other sector.

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  • Canada is ranked among the top-four countries in the world for access to public equity, private equity and venture capital. Access to credit is adequate, with business credit growing by an average of 5.7% between 2005 and 2015.
  • Financial services employed 250,790 people and accounted for 7.9% of Toronto’s employment in 2015.
  • In total, Toronto’s financial services sector generated a combined $16.1 billion in revenues for federal, provincial and municipal governments in 2015.

Read the full report here.

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