This is the first in a series of reports on Indigenous Businesses in Canada and Ontario.

The development of viable business opportunities is essential to the future prosperity of Aboriginal peoples, and for improving Aboriginal employment prospects, especially for the growing number of young Aboriginal job-seekers entering the labour market.

Yet, there is relatively little current information available on Aboriginal business owners. The last comprehensive study of Aboriginal businesses was conducted by Statistics Canada and Aboriginal Business Canada nearly a decade earlier (2002). The Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) embarked upon the 2011 Aboriginal Business Survey (ABS) to address this knowledge gap and contribute to the understanding of the opportunities and challenges faced by Aboriginal businesses.