{
  "id": "active-businesses",
  "category": "Downtown",
  "title": "Businesses operating in Greater Victoria",
  "geography": "Victoria census metropolitan area (Greater Victoria)",
  "scope": "region",
  "levels": [
    "Business owners",
    "All levels of government (taxes, rules, services)"
  ],
  "plain_question": "How many businesses with employees are operating in Greater Victoria, and are more opening than closing?",
  "value": 11394.0,
  "display_value": "11,394",
  "unit": "active businesses with employees (seasonally adjusted)",
  "period": "July 2026",
  "period_start": "2026-07-01",
  "period_end": "2026-07-28",
  "comparison": {
    "previous_period": "July 2025",
    "previous_value": 11332.0,
    "change_percent": 0.5
  },
  "trend": "roughly_flat",
  "trend_basis": "11,394 active businesses in July 2026 compared with 11,332 in July 2025 (+0.5%). Over the 12 months to July 2026, about 5,821 businesses opened and 5,762 closed (monthly estimates added up here).",
  "direction_good": "up",
  "right_direction": "A higher number means more businesses with employees are operating in the area.",
  "caveats": [
    "Statistics Canada labels these as experimental estimates. A business is counted as active in a month if it reported one or more employees that month. Estimates are revised as new records arrive.",
    "Covers business-sector industries. An \"opening\" includes a seasonal business re-opening or a firm hiring again after a month with no employees, so openings and closings are not the same as new and permanently closed businesses.",
    "Businesses without employees, such as many sole owners, are not counted.",
    "The area is the Victoria census metropolitan area (Greater Victoria). A downtown-only figure is not published.",
    "Monthly openings and closings are seasonally adjusted estimates; the 12-month totals in the note are added up here and are approximate."
  ],
  "series": [
    {
      "period": "2024-07",
      "value": 11246.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2024-08",
      "value": 11265.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2024-09",
      "value": 11268.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2024-10",
      "value": 11267.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2024-11",
      "value": 11173.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2024-12",
      "value": 11259.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2025-01",
      "value": 11313.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2025-02",
      "value": 11277.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2025-03",
      "value": 11299.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2025-04",
      "value": 11313.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2025-05",
      "value": 11308.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2025-06",
      "value": 11307.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2025-07",
      "value": 11332.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2025-08",
      "value": 11305.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2025-09",
      "value": 11316.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2025-10",
      "value": 11286.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2025-11",
      "value": 11292.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2025-12",
      "value": 11312.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2026-01",
      "value": 11296.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2026-02",
      "value": 11310.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2026-03",
      "value": 11282.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2026-04",
      "value": 11307.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2026-05",
      "value": 11347.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2026-06",
      "value": 11377.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2026-07",
      "value": 11394.0
    }
  ],
  "refresh_frequency": "Monthly",
  "data_published": "2026-10-29",
  "source": {
    "name": "Statistics Canada, Business openings and closures (experimental estimates)",
    "url": "https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=3310027001",
    "dataset_url": "https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/62937d0d-0d08-4247-aa9d-4439cb1f3382",
    "table_url": "https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=3310027001",
    "table": "33-10-0270-01"
  },
  "licence": {
    "name": "Open Government Licence - Canada",
    "url": "https://open.canada.ca/en/open-government-licence-canada"
  },
  "attribution": "Adapted from Statistics Canada, table 33-10-0270-01. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.",
  "retrieved_at": "2026-11-11T06:55:57Z"
}