A pair of research reports published within days of each other shed light on how young Canadians view and engage with entrepreneurship. According to an Ipsos Canada poll of 3,137 adults commissioned by RBC, approximately two-thirds of Gen Z respondents — 66 per cent — had contemplated starting their own business, a rate higher than that recorded among any other age group surveyed. A separate poll by Nanos Research, commissioned by Shift Canada and drawing on responses from 996 Canadians between the ages of 18 and 34, revealed that nearly two-thirds expressed intentions to start their own business or indicated an openness to doing so. Findings from both reports point to a pattern in which younger Canadians are increasingly choosing to run their own ventures in tandem with salaried work, rather than treating entrepreneurship as a replacement for it. An RBC poll found that 46 per cent of Gen Z entrepreneurs run a secondary income venture alongside their primary full-time employment. An additional 32 per cent of Generation Z Canadians without a business of their own have expressed a desire to launch a side venture. RBC data also indicates that Gen Z tends to measure achievement by different standards than those of earlier generations, while Amy Childs, Vice President of Small Business and Partnerships at RBC, noted that entrepreneurship among this cohort increasingly prioritises flexibility, financial stability, and independence over conventional business models. Among Canadian Gen Z respondents, 42 per cent define entrepreneurial achievement as the ability to provide financially for themselves or their households, while 35 per cent connect it to accumulating wealth over time. According to the survey data, 33 per cent of respondents expressed a desire for self-employment, while 31 per cent hoped to generate income from a personal interest. Just 27 per cent identified business expansion as their principal measure of achievement. Both research papers point to systemic barriers that stand in the way of the positive outlook. According to a Nanos Research poll, approximately 64 per cent of Canadians between the ages of 18 and 34 identified insufficient startup capital as the primary obstacle to launching a business. Funding access ranked as the foremost barrier for 70 per cent of female respondents, compared with 57 per cent of their male counterparts, pointing to a notable disparity between the two groups. Worries about financial instability came in second at 55 per cent, with apprehension over potential failure at 52 per cent and insufficient mentoring access at 42 per cent rounding out the top concerns. According to the RBC survey, elevated living costs ranked as the top obstacle identified by 42 per cent of Canadian Gen Z respondents. According to the Nanos poll, 22 per cent of young Canadians placed hands-on mentorship and guidance at the top of their list of non-financial supports for would-be entrepreneurs, ahead of emotional and family support at 17 per cent and entrepreneurship education at 11 per cent. That proportion climbed to 31 per cent for respondents whose mother, father, or guardian had owned or operated a business. Findings from both studies point to technology as a factor in reducing obstacles to market participation. According to an RBC survey, roughly eight in ten Canadians felt that digital tools and online platforms had lowered the barriers to entrepreneurship, a view shared by a comparable share of Gen Z business owners who reported comfort in deploying technology to manage their operations. According to an RBC survey, 83 per cent of Generation Z business owners reported that today's entrepreneurs face greater expectations around technological learning and adaptation than those of prior generations, while 63 per cent said they feel compelled to embrace artificial intelligence tools in order to remain competitive. According to the Nanos Research poll, nearly four in ten Canadians between the ages of 18 and 34 believe artificial intelligence increases business risk, while just one in nine hold the opposite view. Ipsos Canada carried out the RBC Small Business Poll between June 27 and July 6, 2026. Nanos Research carried out the Shift Canada poll between July 28 and 31, 2026.
