Businesses for Sale in Canada: 858 Listings, $610K Median

Drafted from Napkin Deals' audited fact sheet of 28,310 live listings, data as of 28 September 2026. Every figure is checked against the snapshot.

This guide is for buyers screening Canada with their own capital, and for sponsors running several searches at once. It covers what is listed on Napkin Deals in Canada, at what prices, in which business types and sectors, what sellers ask as multiples, and how Canadian acquisition lending works. In September 2026 the country shows 858 live listings and a median asking price of $610K across the 757 listings that state a price. Asking, not closing.

• Canada shows 858 live listings on Napkin Deals in September 2026 (n=858).
• 757 of those Canadian listings state an asking price in September 2026 (n=757).
• The median asking price in Canada is $610K in September 2026 (n=757).
• Canadian asking prices run from $283K at the lower quartile to $1.25M at the upper quartile in September 2026 (n=757).
• Total asking value across priced Canadian listings is $1.2B in September 2026 (n=757).
• The median asking EBITDA multiple in Canada is 3.45x in September 2026 (n=494), with a median asking revenue multiple of 0.76x (n=611).

What is listed in Canada right now

Canada shows 858 live listings on Napkin Deals in September 2026. Of those, 757 state a price. Every price figure in this guide is an asking price set by a seller or a broker, not a price paid at closing.

The median asking price in Canada is $610K in September 2026, across the 757 priced listings. The lower quartile sits at $283K and the upper quartile at $1.25M. That spread tells you the country is dominated by owner-operated businesses, with a thinner band of larger assets above it.

Total asking value across those 757 priced Canadian listings is $1.2B in September 2026. Treat that as the size of the visible shelf, not a measure of transaction volume.

Canada accounts for 3% of the 26,720 operating listings in the index in September 2026. The index covers 28,310 live listings across 99 countries, of which 24,927 state a price.

The most-listed business types

Service businesses lead with 108 listings, or 13% of the country's listings. Retail follows at 102 listings and 12%. Construction and franchises each show 100 listings and 12%. Manufacturing carries 94 listings at 11%, and restaurants and hospitality 85 listings at 10%.

The tail is short and specific. Distribution and wholesale shows 43 listings, e-commerce 41 and healthcare practices 40, each at 5% of Canadian listings. Professional services shows 26 listings, or 3%.

Read that mix as a market of owner-operated trades and storefronts, not a market of platforms. Service, retail, construction and restaurant businesses of this size usually depend on the seller for sales, scheduling or licence-holding. Manufacturing and distribution listings are fewer but tend to sit higher in the price bands, with equipment and working capital inside the deal.

Sectors and price bands

By sector, Retail & Consumer is the largest group in Canada with 369 listings, or 43% of the country's listings in September 2026. Industrials & Services follows with 268 listings at 31%. Food & Consumer Staples shows 71 listings and 8%. Healthcare and Software & IT each show 48 listings and 6%. The Index computes sector-level asking multiples for Retail & Consumer, Industrials & Services, Healthcare and Software & IT.

By asking price, 326 of the 757 priced Canadian listings sit under $500K, which is 43% of them. The $500K–$1M band holds 191 listings at 25%, taking the cumulative share to 68%. The $1M–$2.5M band holds 163 listings at 22%, for a cumulative 90%.

Above that, the market thins. The $2.5M–$5M band holds 44 listings at 6%, and 33 listings ask $5M or more, which is 4% of priced Canadian listings.

If your equity cheque puts you above $2.5M, the band table shows how few Canadian listings you will screen in any given month, and why sponsors at that size usually widen by country rather than by sector.

What sellers ask

Canadian sellers ask a median of 3.45x EBITDA in September 2026, on a sample of 494 listings. The lower quartile is 2.71x and the upper quartile 4.74x, a spread of 2.03x between them. On revenue, the median asking multiple is 0.76x across 611 listings, with a lower quartile of 0.46x, an upper quartile of 1.20x and a spread of 0.74x. These are asking multiples; the inputs come from the listing.

Closed-sale data is a separate measurement. BizBuySell's Insight Report, covering closed US marketplace sales, put average sold multiples in 2025 at 2.61x cash flow and 0.69x revenue ^[1], with a median sale price of $350,000 on $703,000 of revenue and $158,950 of cash flow ^[1]. Those deals also closed at 94 percent of asking after a median 170 days ^[1].

Do not subtract one from the other. The closed figures use a different country, a different basis (seller's discretionary earnings rather than EBITDA) and a different population. IBBA's Market Pulse is the other closed-deal reference worth reading, because it reports multiples paid by size band from brokers rather than from listings. Price from the target's own numbers, and read our page on valuation multiples before you anchor on any published band.

Who is selling, and why

Succession is why these businesses reach the market. CFIB's 2023 survey found 76% of Canadian small business owners planning to exit within a decade, putting $2 trillion of business assets in play ^[2]. Only 9% have a formal succession plan, 54% say finding a suitable buyer is the main obstacle, and 75% cite retirement as the reason for exiting ^[2].

BDC's January 2026 work reports 61% of SMEs led by owners aged 50 or more ^[3]. For a buyer the consequence is process risk, not scarcity. An unprepared seller means incomplete records, no management layer below the owner and a longer path through due diligence. Ask early who runs the business when the owner is away.

How deals get financed

The Canada Small Business Financing Program is the government-guaranteed route. It guarantees up to $1.15 million per borrower, for borrowers with revenue of $10 million or less, and charges a 2% registration fee ^[4].

Since July 4, 2022 the programme can finance up to $150,000 of intangible assets, including goodwill and franchise fees ^[5]. That matters in acquisitions, because goodwill is the part of the purchase price conventional lenders resist funding.

BDC lends directly for business purchases and transfers. It publishes no fixed down payment for acquisition loans, and it finances buyouts, family transfers and the refinancing of vendor take-backs ^[6]. Its illustrative acquisition stack has the senior lender advancing about 3x EBITDA, with equity, a vendor note and mezzanine covering the remainder ^[7].

Build your stack in that order and test each layer separately. Senior debt sized off historical EBITDA, then equity, then a vendor note whose standby terms the senior lender will dictate. Expect a personal guarantee, and expect the vendor note to be subordinated rather than repaid alongside the bank.

If you are also screening US targets, the rules are different and stricter on equity injection. Read our explainer on SBA loans for acquisitions and the SBA 7(a) program terms before you assume a Canadian structure transfers.

What a buyer should know about Canada

Deal flow follows the business base, and the business base is concentrated. Ontario holds 410,154 small employer businesses and Quebec 228,622, together more than half the national total, with British Columbia at 170,512 and Alberta at 137,182 ^[8]. Plan travel and adviser coverage around that.

A US buyer acquiring a Canadian small business sits far below the Investment Canada Act review thresholds, which run at $2.179 billion, $1.452 billion and $578 million depending on the investor and the sector in 2026, but a notification must still be filed ^[9].

Working in the business is a separate question from owning it. A US buyer who intends to manage the company needs a work permit. IRCC lets an entrepreneur apply without a labour market impact assessment if the business will create or maintain significant economic, social or cultural benefits, or jobs for Canadians ^[10]. Confirm the route with an immigration lawyer before you sign.

On tax, one Canadian mechanic is worth raising with your adviser early. In an asset sale the parties can jointly elect under section 167 using Form GST44, so no GST/HST is payable, provided the buyer acquires all or substantially all of the business property ^[11]. Ask your tax adviser whether your structure qualifies rather than assuming it does.

Two practice points close this out. Confirm the currency stated on each listing before you compare prices across countries, and confirm which provincial licences and registrations transfer with the business and which must be reissued to the buyer.

Method and sources

Our figures come from a snapshot of live listings on Napkin Deals taken in September 2026. Counts are of listings, not of businesses, and country is the country recorded on the listing. Prices and multiples use only listings with trusted price and financial fields, which is why the samples differ: 757 priced listings, 494 for EBITDA multiples and 611 for revenue multiples. We publish a figure only where at least 25 listings support it, and lead figures use a 500-listing floor. All our prices and multiples are asking, not closing.

External figures carry a marker immediately after them and come from the sources named inline, including ISED, CFIB, BDC, CRA, BizBuySell and IBBA.

Browse the live listings behind these numbers, or create a buyer account on Napkin Deals to work from the full set.

Frequently asked questions

Should I expect to pay the asking price on a Canadian listing?

Our Canadian figures are asking prices only, so they do not tell you what buyers paid. The nearest closed-sale reference is US marketplace data, where deals closed at 94 percent of asking in 2025 ^[1]. Price from the target's own financials and verify them in due diligence.

How long does a small acquisition take to close?

Our data does not measure time to close. In US marketplace data, deals took a median 170 days in 2025 ^[1]. Canadian timelines depend on lender approval, licence transfers and landlord consent.

Why are some Canadian business types or provinces missing from the tables?

We publish a figure only where at least 25 listings support it. The table shows the ten most-listed business types in Canada in September 2026, all above that floor. Anything thinner is withheld rather than shown with a small sample, because medians on a handful of listings move with a single price change.

I am a Canadian buyer looking at a US business. What changes?

Immigration and lending rules both change. A Canadian buyer who will run the business usually applies for an E-2 treaty investor visa, which requires a substantial investment and control of the business, shown by at least 50 percent ownership or operational control ^[12]. Ask an immigration lawyer before signing a purchase agreement.