More than half a million British Columbians hope to start their own business in the next five years, according to an RBC/Ipsos Reid poll.
The survey found that roughly 16% of B.C.'s aspiring entrepreneurs are executives or managers, 14% are in sales, 12% are secretarial, 12% work blue collar jobs and 11% are technical employees.
About 69% of aspiring entrepreneurs were employed and just over 40% had either been self-employed or had owned a business.
B.C. had the third largest number of people interested in starting their own business Ontario was first and Quebec was second.
Across Canada, the survey found that more people were considering starting an Internet-based or online-services business. Roughly 12% said they planned to start such a business, while fewer people said they were interested in starting their own consultancy or retail business.
Approximately 55% of respondents aged between 35 and 54 said they were interested in starting their own business.