TORONTO, Canada – Four in five Canadians are worried their favourite local businesses may close down as a result of the pandemic, according to new public opinion research conducted by Maru/Matchbox for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB)’s Small Business Recovery Dashboard.
The poll found that 82 per cent of Canadians are worried that their favourite local businesses will close down; 69 per cent are concerned the economy is not recovering fast enough; 76 per cent believe we need to start focusing more on economic recovery; 95 per cent believe supporting small business is key to keeping our economy healthy
“We are in a pivotal moment for small business recovery. Canadians’ concern that some of their favourite businesses may close is not misplaced—CFIB’s research shows that Canada may lose 158,000 small businesses before the end of the pandemic, particularly as many continue to face dramatically lower sales,” said CFIB president Dan Kelly.
The latest bi-weekly data from CFIB’s Small Business Recovery Dashboard shows:
- 63 per cent of small businesses are fully open
- 39 per cent are fully staffed
- 26 per cent are making normal sales
“Back in June, we saw that Canadians were starting to be more comfortable with eating at dine-in restaurants and going to their barbers or stylists for a haircut. Now, Canadians are realizing that a slow economic recovery will hurt their favourite local businesses and community as a whole,” said Kyle Davies, Senior Vice President at Maru/Matchbox.
CFIB is encouraging Canadians to get involved in helping small businesses survive by shopping at their local, independent businesses. At smallbusinesseveryday.ca, consumers can participate in interesting challenges to support local businesses, and find information about other initiatives aimed at small business recovery. One of those initiatives is American Express’s Shop Small® campaign, which is encouraging Cardmembers to shop at small businesses by offering a $5 credit when they spend at least $10 with their registered Card, at up to 10 different participating businesses until September 13¹.
“There’s a reason we all have a favourite independent coffee shop, gym, or flower shop—they give us terrific service, grow local economies and make our communities more vibrant and unique,” added Kelly. “Buying local is one of the most important things Canadians can do to help our economy recover quickly.”
