YUKON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | INVESTYUKON.COM

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) constitute the majority of Yukon’s business establishments. This sector is Yukon’s largest private sector employer and includes anything from professional, scientific and technical services to retail trade, construction, accommodation, food and other services. 36% of working Yukoners are employed by firms with less than 50 employees and an additional 27% are employed by businesses with 50-100 workers. All told, the SME sector in Yukon accounts for approximately 63% of private sector employment. Opportunities for SMEs, created by growth in other key sectors of Yukon’s economy, an expanding consumer base, and the unparalleled Yukon lifestyle, combine to attract entrepreneurs of all stripes.

Competitive Taxes and Incentives

Yukon offers a very competitive tax regime with no territorial sales tax and numerous tax incentives for small and medium size businesses. These incentives include:

The Yukon Small Business Investment Tax Credit (YSBITC) – a personal tax credit that reduces Yukon income tax for eligible investors who invest in eligible business corporations making qualified investments.
The Business Incentive Program (BIP) – Government of Yukon construction contracts rebates for Yukon labour, materials, registered apprentices and Yukon youth.
The Yukon Research and Development Tax Credit – a refundable corporate and personal income tax credit for eligible expenditures incurred by a corporation or individual.
The Yukon Venture Loan Guarantee Program – for new business start-ups or expansions of Yukon businesses.

To top it all off, Yukon has one of the lowest personal income tax rates in Canada.

Profile of Entrepreneurship

Yukon’s people are adaptable, creative, entrepreneurial and innovative. We are a dedicated, hard-working people. 79% of the Yukon’s working-age population is active in the labour force. We also have a young population – the average age in Yukon is 35.2, with 62% of the working population under the age of 45.

Yukon has one of the highest university degrees per capita ratios in Canada and a high rate of school completion. Of the current adult population, 50% have undertaken some form of post secondary education, including university degrees, trade certificates, diplomas and college-level education upgrading courses.

An Emerging Knowledge-based Centre

Home to over 60 IT-related companies, Yukon is a prime location for knowledge-based businesses. Yukon companies have overcome the challenges posed by a cold-weather climate and vast geography to develop technologies that meet the needs of Yukon’s industry, government and people. New media technologies are a growing industry in Yukon. We have talented designers and artists working in the fields of CD-ROM production, computer animation and web-page design.

To Live & Work in Yukon

Yukon offers the best of both worlds – a clean, natural environment with unlimited wide-open spaces and access to the amenities that larger cities have to offer. Yukon's many communities offer character, diversity in nature, and importantly, a great place to raise a family. After a videoconference in Whitehorse, our capital city, with business partners around the world, a 10-minute drive will transport you to a boreal forest paradise or a hidden fishing hole. Looking for a residential or commercial property in Yukon, visit the Yukon Real Estate Association .

Connected

Yukon has a modern telecommunications network, with internet access in most of our communities and video conferencing facilities in our capital city, Whitehorse. Companies in Yukon are specialists in remote and cold climate communications, and are continually searching for ways to improve communications for remote locales.

Yukon Success Story

Sportees Activewear: Born in the Yukon. Worn all over.

Small & Medium Enterprises Fact Sheet (PDF)

Yukon Economic Statistics

2007 Yukon Business Survey (PDF)

Yukon Business Directory