Derrick Hunter: Entrepreneurs are critical to economic growth and Politicians should recognize it

The Hub | Derrick Hunter | Jan 19, 2022

78 percent of the Canadian workforce are either entrepreneurs or are employed in businesses that at one time were created by entrepreneurs

A core objective of every federal, provincial, and local government is to promote “economic development”, which is understood as the improvement of our standard of living through the creation of jobs, the support of innovation, the creation of wealth, and an overall better quality of life. Economic growth is more or less table stakes for officeholders who hope to be re-elected since a shrinking economy is never good news for the incumbent.

Consequently, it is hardly surprising that jurisdictions will compete ferociously to attract fast-growing companies. Just witness the frenzy over the announcement by Amazon in 2018 of their intention to create a second headquarters. Dozens of cities across the U.S. and Canada offered extraordinary incentives in the attempt to win the prize. Atlanta offered to build an exclusive airport lounge. Boston offered zero-interest loans to Amazon employees. Columbus offered to make exceptional efforts to reduce their “unacceptable” murder rate. All of this on top of billions of dollars of incentives, subsidies, and tax reductions that were merely the price to play.

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Amazon is currently the fourth largest company in the world, measured by market cap. It didn’t even exist 25 years before it sparked the frenzy created by its HQ2 announcement. Of the ten largest companies in the world at the end of 2021, only Saudi Aramco and Berkshire Hathaway pre-exist the digital age. Half of them (Facebook, Alphabet, Tencent, Alibaba, and Tesla), still haven’t reached 25 years of age. We truly live in an age of remarkable disruption, but how many of these corporate behemoths will hold their place in the top ten 25 years from now?

[Among the largest companies in the world] Only Saudi Aramco and Berkshire Hathaway pre-exist the digital age

The lesson here is one that we forget all too often in Canada; the greatest tool for economic development ever invented by man is entrepreneurship. The vast majority of new jobs are created by startup companies.

In Canada, approximately 12.5 million people, out of 19.3 million employed, work in the private sector. Another 2.6 million are self-employed. Thus, 78 percent of the Canadian workforce are either entrepreneurs or are employed in businesses that at one time were created by entrepreneurs. There’s no Shopify without Tobias Lutke, no Lululemon without Chip Wilson, no Barrick Gold without Peter Munk; these men were rock stars. On the other hand, it’s not just the ones that end up creating massive companies that matter; 98 percent of Canadian businesses employ fewer than 100 people. These are the folks that we all rely on to create the opportunities that build our tax base and improve our standard of living. In other words, to create economic development.

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Economic development is what gives governments something to distribute. While we have attempted over the past few years to borrow and spend our way to prosperity, in the long run, an economy can only sustain expenditures that it can financially support through its tax base.

98 percent of Canadian businesses employ fewer than 100 people

So then, if entrepreneurs are so essential to our general wellbeing as a society, should we not devise policy that treats them as such? The former minister of finance characterized them as tax cheats and applied punitive taxes which are complicated to calculate. Municipalities layer on expensive regulations and raise business tax assessments annually with little regard for the ability to pay. Two years into a historic pandemic, provincial governments apply punishing lockdowns and other restrictions with minimal warning, leading to painful inventory, payroll, and overhead expenses. The list goes on.

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