Statistics Canada released its report on the characteristics of self-employed workers in 2026 on November 12, 2026. It shows that about 2.7 million Canadians were self-employed in their main job in the first nine months of the year, and that a growing share say new clients are hard to find. Many also lack the health, dental and disability coverage that employees often get through work.
- Self-employed workers: an average of 2.7 million, or 12.9% of employed people aged 15 and older, in the first nine months of 2026 (not seasonally adjusted).
- Incorporated businesses: 48.9% of self-employed workers had one, with or without employees.
- Finding clients: 19.4% disagreed that it was generally easy to find new clients in July 2026, up from 13.2% in 2022 and 16.2% in 2025 (fourth-quarter data).
- Coverage: 39.4% had supplementary health coverage, 33.3% dental and 22.9% disability insurance in July 2026. By comparison, 52.8% of employees had access to disability benefits through their job.
- Growth plans: 27.6% planned to expand their business within 12 months, highest in Alberta (35.1%).
What the release shows
The figures come from the Labour Force Survey and a July 2026 supplement. The self-employment rate has held at 12.9% since 2024, down from 15.1% in 2020. Professional, scientific and technical services was the most common industry (18.0% of the self-employed), followed by construction (13.4%) and health care and social assistance (12.7%). The share of self-employed people with employees slipped 2.0 percentage points to 24.9% compared with the 2025 average.
Difficulty finding clients was more common among self-employed landed immigrants (25.7%) than among those born in Canada (15.8%).
What it means for self-employed borrowers
Our interpretation: lenders look for income that is stable and well documented. A rising share of self-employed people reporting trouble finding clients, combined with limited disability coverage, means many households depend on income that can drop with little warning. That matters when qualifying for a mortgage and when planning to carry one through a slow year.
For insured mortgages, CMHC's self-employed program recommends at least 24 months operating the business or in the same line of work, with some flexibility for newer businesses. It lists the Notice of Assessment with the T1 General and the statement of business activities (T2125) among the documents, and allows sole proprietors and partners to have income grossed up by 15% or adjusted by adding back eligible deductions. Individual lenders set their own rules on top of that, and terms vary.
What to do next
- Gather your recent tax returns, Notices of Assessment and business statements early, so income can be documented when you apply.
- Estimate how lenders may view your income with the self-employed mortgage calculator.
- If your income is newer or harder to document, a self-employed mortgage specialist can compare insured, conventional and self-employed mortgage lenders.
- Review whether you have disability or critical illness coverage that would help keep up payments if you could not work.
Sources
- Statistics Canada (The Daily), Characteristics of self-employed workers, 2026, 2026-11-12. Accessed 2026-11-13.
- CMHC, CMHC Self-Employed (mortgage loan insurance), undated product page. Accessed 2026-11-13.
This news summary is general information, not financial, tax or insurance advice. Lender requirements vary; figures may be revised.
