Canada’s head-office jobs not keeping pace with population growth

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Where a company chooses to locate its head office matters. Head office location decisions are a bellwether for the economic competitiveness of cities, and head offices themselves are associated with important benefits including more high-paying jobs, greater employment resilience during economic downturns, and even greater donations to local charities.

Canadians should pay attention, because many of Canada’s largest cities now have fewer head offices relative to their population.

Statistics Canada tracks corporate, regional and subsidiary offices whose main job is to manage and support other parts of the same organization. This is a very broad measure of “head offices” that includes government business enterprises (GBEs) and is not limited to firms of a certain size.

First, consider the national trend. From 2012 to 2021, the longest period with comparable data, Canada’s head office count fell slightly from 2,793 to 2,690 with total employment falling from 222,339 to 211,312.

While number of head offices and head office jobs fell, Canada’s population continued to grow—meaning fewer offices and job opportunities per person. Canada’s head office count per 100,000 population fell from 8.05 to 7.03—a 12.6 per cent decline. Head office employment also fell behind population growth, declining from 640 to 553 jobs per 100,000 people—a 13.7 per cent decrease.

Sources: Statistics Canada Table 33-10-0110-01,Statistics Canada Table 17-10-0005-01, author calculations 

Statistics Canada significantly altered how it counted head offices after 2021, so more recent figures are not directly comparable. However, available data show a continued decline in head office and head-office employment per person between 2022 and 2024.

This national trend reflects significant declines across many of Canada’s major cities. However, there are important differences between them. Results for the eight major Canadian census metropolitan areas (CMAs) tracked by Statistics Canada are summarized below (ordered by location, east to west).

The national decline was widespread—head offices per person fell in all eight CMAs between 2012 and 2021. But there are still large differences in where head-office employment is concentrated. Calgary remained the standout in 2021, with 1,655 head-office jobs per 100,000 residents compared to 1,062 in Toronto and 889 in Montreal—even after head-office employment per person in Calgary fell by nearly one-third. Quebec City was the only CMA where head-office employment per person increased over the period.

Again, changes in how Statistics Canada measures head offices mean data from 2022 onward are not directly comparable to earlier periods. However, the available figures show that the number of head offices and head-office employment per capita fell nationally and in each of the eight CMAs between 2022 and 2024 (see below).

Falling head-office activity relative to population does not by itself show that Canada’s business environment has weakened. Greater head-office productivity, corporate consolidation and/or greater outsourcing of corporate functions could also reduce measured head-office activity. Still, the trend is notable as it coincides with a period of weak business investment, declining business formation and a slowdown in Canadian firms listing on public exchanges. In this context, the decline in head-office activity may be another sign of Canada’s challenges attracting investment and fostering business growth.