Business activity affects the daily lives of all Canadians as they work, spend, save, invest, travel, and play. It influences jobs, incomes, and opportunities for personal enterprise. Business has a significant effect on the standard of living and quality of life of Canadians, and on the environment in which they live and which future generations will inherit. Eventually, most students will encounter the world of business, whether they work in cities or towns or in rural areas. They must be prepared to engage in business activity with confidence and competence. Young people need to understand how business functions, its role in our society, the opportunities it generates, the skills it requires, and the potential impact it can have on their lives and society, today and in the future.

The business studies program will build a strong foundation for those who wish to move on to further study and training in specialized areas such as management, international business, marketing, accounting, information technology, computer applications, or entrepreneurship. It will also provide practical skills for those who wish to move directly into the world of business.

Engaging in the world of business involves studying individuals and communities, assessing their needs and problems, and generating solutions. Consequently, business studies must draw upon various other fields of study and apply related concepts and knowledge. For example, close links exist between marketing and communications, accounting and mathematics, entrepreneurial studies and technology, international business and world studies, and organizational studies and studies of society and human nature. Students will also be able to transfer the knowledge and skills they acquire in business studies to their study of other areas, such as technology, mathematics, science, and languages.

Subject matter from any course in business studies can be combined with subject matter from one or more courses in other disciplines in the secondary school curriculum to create an interdisciplinary course. The policies and procedures regarding the development of interdisciplinary courses are outlined in the interdisciplinary studies curriculum policy document.

Business studies provides students with a new, practical context for many of the subjects they studied at the elementary level, including mathematics, science, and social studies. It helps students to recognize the relevance of these subjects as they are applied in the world of business ? for example, in the study of individuals and communities; in helping people with their needs, challenges, and problems; and in creating products and services that help to improve the quality of life. Business studies clearly demonstrates how a variety of areas of study can be combined in productive activity that affects the lives of millions of people. Courses in this discipline provide knowledge and skills that can help students make a successful transition to the workplace, to training programs, or to postsecondary education. The introduction of business studies in Grades 9 and 10 prepares students to apply their education to real-world challenges, experiences, and opportunities.