The Canadian Council for Indigenous Business has partnered with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s Business Data Lab to roll out the Indigenous Business Insights Tracker, which aims to clarify the impact of Indigenous entrepreneurs on Canada’s economy.
CCIB will host the interactive dashboard on its website. The dashboard includes data on Indigenous entrepreneurship and economic trends for businesses, policymakers, and communities.
The tracker will examine demographic distribution and generate business outlooks that cover expected barriers, according to the chamber. It also provides a detailed overview of trade activity, including cross-border sales and purchase value and anticipated tariff impact.
“Indigenous businesses are now engaged in every sector of the Canadian economy, and as a national voice of First Nation, Métis, and Inuit business, CCIB welcomes the collaboration with the Business Data Lab to show how Indigenous businesses can contribute to major projects and international trade,” said Matthew Foss, CCIB’s vice president of research and public policy, in a statement. “It’s vital that we measure this progress and strengthen the evidence based 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.”
The Indigenous Business Insights Tracker will be updated every quarter. According to Patrick Gill, the BDL’s vice president, the collaboration helps Indigenous partners to highlight the increasing impact of Indigenous businesses in Canada’s economy “at a time of heightened trade uncertainty, major project development, and economic change.”
BDL economist Jasleen Kaur Trehan added that the work “helps close important data gaps on Indigenous business activity and trade.”
“By combining Statistics Canada data with insights from Indigenous businesses, the dashboard provides a sharper, more nuanced picture of how Indigenous entrepreneurs are navigating trade pressures and where opportunities exist to support continued growth. At a time of heightened uncertainty, having access to this kind of granular, community-informed data isn’t just useful, it’s essential,” Trehan said.