Madam Speaker, I can assure the member opposite that growing the economy and supporting small businesses, such as those she mentioned in her speech, is a core priority of our government. It is a key part of our plan, in fact, to strengthen the middle class.
It has become clear that the investments our government has made in people, in communities, and in the economy are working. Canada has created 700,000 jobs since November 2015, and the unemployment rate is at its lowest level in over four years. In fact, since the beginning of 2016, Canada has had the fastest-growing economy in the G7. Canada has a highly competitive corporate tax system, one of the most competitive in the G7.
In last October's economic statement, our government took a major step to stimulate economic growth and specifically to help small businesses in Canada. We announced that we would be lowering the small business tax rate to 10% effective January 1, 2018, and to 9% effective January 1, 2019.
The combined average Canadian federal, provincial, and territorial tax rate for small business is already the lowest in the G7 and the fourth lowest across OECD countries. For the average small business, this tax cut will translate into savings of roughly $1,600 a year in federal taxes.
Thanks to this small business tax cut, entrepreneurs will be able to save more of their earnings, which they can then reinvest and use to further develop their businesses while creating good, well-paying jobs for Canadians.
Canadians have engaged in an important discussion on proposed measures to address tax planning using private corporations. We listened and we made revisions to the initial proposals to address the use of income sprinkling by owners of private corporations. Those revised measures are designed to ensure that they do not affect family members who make meaningful contributions to a family business.
It is important to note that the vast majority of private corporations will not be impacted by these income sprinkling measures. Under the new simplified proposals, the number of family businesses that would be affected annually is estimated to be fewer than 45,000, or less than 3% of Canada's 1.8 million Canadian-controlled private corporations.
With respect to passive investments held in private corporations, our government will be presenting a detailed plan in the 2018 budget. We need to ensure a level playing field, and we need Canadians to know that they will be compensated fairly for their hard work. That is exactly what we are going to do.