Canadian Equipment Financing Statistics 2026
The public numbers on how Canadian businesses buy and finance equipment, pulled from the CFLA, Statistics Canada, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada and BDC. Every table links to its source.
Key numbers
- Asset-backed lenders and lessors in Canada held $409.4 billion of financed assets at the end of 2024 and wrote $130.4 billion of new business that year. Canadian Finance & Leasing Association
- About a third of all spending on equipment and commercial vehicles in Canada is financed through asset-backed lenders and lessors: 34.6% in 2024, with 33% forecast for 2025. Canadian Finance & Leasing Association
- Businesses and governments plan $127.2 billion of machinery and equipment spending in 2026, 0.6% less than in 2025. Alberta is down 2.1%; British Columbia is up 3.1%. Statistics Canada
- 7% of Canadian small and medium-sized businesses asked for lease financing in 2023, and 90.9% of SME debt requests were approved in full or in part. Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
- Equipment finance delinquency rates (30- and 90-day, tracked by Equifax) in 2024 were the highest since records began in 2005. Canadian Finance & Leasing Association
How big is equipment and asset finance in Canada?
The CFLA's yearly market overview sizes the asset-backed finance industry: lenders and lessors that finance equipment and vehicles against the asset itself. It covers equipment, fleet vehicles and consumer vehicles.
| Measure | 2024 | Change from 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets financed (all segments) | $409.4 billion | +5.1% |
| Equipment and commercial vehicle assets financed | $117.7 billion | +2.8% |
| Machinery and equipment assets financed | $72.0 billion | -0.4% |
| Fleet vehicle assets financed | $45.7 billion | +8.2% |
| Total new business written (all segments) | $130.4 billion | +9.0% |
| New equipment and commercial vehicle financing | $43.4 billion | -0.1% |
| New machinery and equipment financing | $28.3 billion | -2.6% |
| New fleet vehicle financing | $15.1 billion | +5.0% |
Dollar figures rounded from the CFLA's table in millions. Machinery and equipment excludes commercial vehicles. The same report notes that Equifax's 30- and 90-day equipment finance delinquency rates in 2024 were the highest since records began in 2005.
Source: Canadian Finance & Leasing Association (CFLA), Canadian Market Overview 2024-25 Highlights (prepared by Quantitative Economic Decisions, Inc.), published November 2025. Checked October 5, 2026.
What share of equipment purchases is financed?
The penetration rate divides new equipment and commercial vehicle financing by total spending on new machinery and equipment. It is the closest public answer to how much Canadian equipment is bought with a lease or a loan from an asset-based lender.
| Year | New equipment and commercial vehicle financing | Spending on new machinery and equipment | Share financed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $43.4 billion | $124.0 billion | 35% |
| 2024 | $43.4 billion | $125.5 billion | 34.6% |
| 2025 (forecast) | $43.6 billion | $132.3 billion | 33% |
The share counts financing from asset-based lenders and lessors only. Bank term loans and lines of credit used to buy equipment are not in the numerator.
Source: Canadian Finance & Leasing Association (CFLA), Canadian Market Overview 2024-25 Highlights (prepared by Quantitative Economic Decisions, Inc.), published November 2025. Checked October 5, 2026.
Where the financing is written, by region
New asset-backed financing written in 2024, by region. These totals include consumer vehicle financing, so they show where the industry's volume sits rather than equipment alone.
| Region | New financing, 2024 | Share of Canada | Average yearly growth, 2014 to 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ontario | $49 billion | 38% | 4% |
| Quebec | $30 billion | 23% | 5% |
| Alberta | $19 billion | 15% | 0% |
| British Columbia | $15 billion | 11% | 4% |
| Atlantic Canada | $9 billion | 7% | 4% |
| Saskatchewan | $5 billion | 4% | 2% |
| Manitoba | $4 billion | 3% | 3% |
Regions as published by the CFLA. Canada-wide average growth over the same decade was 3% a year.
Source: Canadian Finance & Leasing Association (CFLA), Canadian Market Overview 2024-25 Highlights (prepared by Quantitative Economic Decisions, Inc.), published November 2025. Checked October 5, 2026.
Machinery and equipment spending plans for 2026, by province
Statistics Canada surveys businesses and governments each winter on what they plan to spend. These are 2026 intentions for machinery and equipment, published February 25, 2026: $127.2 billion nationally. Across all asset types, non-residential capital spending is expected to reach $401.2 billion in 2026, up 3.7%, with the growth in buildings and infrastructure rather than equipment.
| Province or territory | Machinery and equipment, 2026 ($ millions) | Change from 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Canada | 127,182.0 | -0.6% |
| Ontario | 47,656.0 | -1.2% |
| Quebec | 22,868.1 | +0.5% |
| Alberta | 19,669.8 | -2.1% |
| British Columbia | 17,512.7 | +3.1% |
| Saskatchewan | 6,590.2 | -5.1% |
| Manitoba | 4,052.3 | -0.9% |
| Nova Scotia | 3,083.0 | +3.2% |
| New Brunswick | 2,754.6 | -0.3% |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 1,755.5 | 0.0% |
| Prince Edward Island | 502.4 | -5.7% |
| Nunavut | 350.3 | -22.5% |
| Yukon | 207.3 | +2.2% |
| Northwest Territories | 179.8 | +11.0% |
Intentions, not actual spending. Statistics Canada revises these figures in later releases.
Source: Statistics Canada, The Daily: Non-residential capital and repair expenditures, 2024 (revised), 2025 (preliminary) and 2026 (intentions), Table 34-10-0035-01, published February 25, 2026. Checked October 5, 2026.
How small and medium-sized businesses finance themselves
The Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises runs every three years. The 2023 edition is the latest published; it asked businesses with 1 to 499 employees what financing they requested and what they got.
| Measure | 2023 |
|---|---|
| SMEs that requested any external financing | 49% (82% in 2020) |
| Requested trade credit | 27% |
| Requested debt financing | 26% |
| Requested lease financing | 7% |
| Requested government financing | 7% |
| Requested equity financing | 1% |
| Debt requests approved, in full or in part | 90.9% |
| Share of requested debt dollars authorized | 86.4% |
| Debt financing secured by collateral | 47% |
Of the SMEs that did not request financing, 81% said they did not need it, 6% did not know where to find it and 6% expected it to cost too much.
Source: Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (data collected by Statistics Canada), Summary of the Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises 2023, published May 15, 2025. Checked October 5, 2026.
Debt approval rates by business size
Larger firms were approved more often and got closer to the full amount they asked for.
| Employees | Approved, in full or in part | Share of requested dollars authorized |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | 89.3% | 86.9% |
| 5 to 19 | 91.8% | 81.5% |
| 20 to 99 | 92.8% | 86.1% |
| 100 to 499 | 98.7% | 93.1% |
Approval rates include partial approvals.
Source: Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (data collected by Statistics Canada), Summary of the Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises 2023, published May 15, 2025. Checked October 5, 2026.
Average rates SMEs paid, by product
Average annual rates reported by SMEs in the 2023 survey. Equipment leases are not broken out separately.
| Product | Average rate paid |
|---|---|
| Non-residential mortgages | 7% |
| Term loans | 9% |
| Lines of credit | 11% |
| Business credit cards | 19% |
Survey averages from 2023, not current market rates and not a CBL Financial rate.
Source: Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (data collected by Statistics Canada), Summary of the Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises 2023, published May 15, 2025. Checked October 5, 2026.
BDC lending to Canadian businesses, fiscal 2026
BDC is the federal Crown bank for small and medium-sized businesses. Its fiscal year ended March 31, 2026. BDC describes its small-business segment as firms with $2 million to $10 million in revenue, typically looking to buy equipment, expand or refinance.
| Segment | Clients supported | Average loan size |
|---|---|---|
| Smallest businesses (revenue under $2 million) | 49,013 | $224,000 |
| Small businesses ($2 million to $10 million revenue) | 17,241 | $848,000 |
| Medium businesses (revenue over $10 million) | 6,785 | $3.7 million |
BDC also reports 101,135 clients served, $11.6 billion in financing accepted during the year and $52.6 billion committed to clients in total.
Source: Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), Annual Report 2026 highlights (fiscal year ended March 31, 2026), published 2026. Checked October 5, 2026.
What this means if you're buying equipment
Asset-based lenders alone cover roughly a third of new equipment and commercial vehicle spending in Canada, before counting bank term loans and credit lines. Leasing and equipment loans are an ordinary way to pay for a machine, a truck or a fit-out.
Two things in the data are worth knowing before you apply. Approval rates climb with business size, so a smaller or newer business is more likely to be offered less than it asked for, or asked for more security. And industry delinquency ran at record levels in 2024. When that happens, lenders tend to ask more questions about time in business, cash flow and the equipment itself, so a complete application moves faster.
CBL Financial is a Calgary-based broker. We place equipment leases and loans with a network of lenders for businesses across Canada, for new or used equipment from a dealer, an auction or a private seller, with funding up to $1,000,000 and same-day approvals.
- Equipment financing: borrow to buy and own the equipment.
- Equipment leasing: fixed payments over the term, with options at the end.
- Used equipment leasing: auction, dealer or private-sale equipment.
- Equipment refinancing: free up cash from equipment you already own.
- Equipment financing calculator: example payments for a lease or a loan.
Questions about these numbers
How big is the equipment finance industry in Canada?
Canada's asset-backed finance industry held $409.4 billion of financed assets at the end of 2024, according to the CFLA's Canadian Market Overview. Equipment and commercial vehicles made up $117.7 billion of that. The industry wrote $130.4 billion of new business in 2024, including $43.4 billion of new equipment and commercial vehicle financing.
What percentage of equipment is financed in Canada?
About a third. The CFLA estimates asset-based lenders and lessors financed 34.6% of spending on new machinery, equipment and commercial vehicles in 2024, and forecasts 33% for 2025. That share leaves out bank term loans and lines of credit, so the true share of equipment bought on credit is higher.
How many Canadian small businesses lease equipment?
In Statistics Canada's 2023 Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises, 7% of SMEs requested lease financing that year, the same share that requested government financing. Debt financing (26%) and trade credit (27%) were more common requests.
Is equipment investment in Canada growing in 2026?
Not by much. Statistics Canada's February 2026 survey shows planned machinery and equipment spending of $127.2 billion in 2026, down 0.6% from 2025. British Columbia (+3.1%) and Nova Scotia (+3.2%) plan increases, while Alberta (-2.1%) and Ontario (-1.2%) plan less.
How often is this page updated?
We check every source on this page monthly and update the figures when a publisher releases new data. Statistics Canada publishes capital spending intentions each February, the CFLA publishes its market overview each fall, and BDC publishes its annual report after its fiscal year ends March 31.
Sources and method
We use primary publishers only: industry association reports, Statistics Canada, federal departments and BDC. Figures are copied as published; dollar amounts shown in billions are rounded from the publisher's tables in millions. Where a publisher's own table and text disagree, we use the text and note it in our records. We check every source monthly and update this page when new data is released.
- Canadian Finance & Leasing Association (CFLA), Canadian Market Overview 2024-25 Highlights (prepared by Quantitative Economic Decisions, Inc.). Published November 2025. Checked October 5, 2026.
- Statistics Canada, The Daily: Non-residential capital and repair expenditures, 2024 (revised), 2025 (preliminary) and 2026 (intentions), Table 34-10-0035-01. Published February 25, 2026. Checked October 5, 2026.
- Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (data collected by Statistics Canada), Summary of the Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises 2023. Published May 15, 2025. Checked October 5, 2026.
- Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), Annual Report 2026 highlights (fiscal year ended March 31, 2026). Published 2026. Checked October 5, 2026.
Cite this page
You're welcome to quote these tables. Please credit the original publisher and link to this page:
CBL Financial, "Canadian Equipment Financing Statistics 2026", updated October 5, 2026, https://cblf.ca/canadian-equipment-financing-statistics/
General information only, not financial, tax or legal advice.
