Small Business Recovery Dashboard
As of September 13, 2022
Top worries for small business owners
Source:
CFIB, final results for the Your Voice – September 2022 survey, results from September 8-13, 2022, n = 1,947. For comparison purposes, a probability sample with the same number of respondents would have a margin of error of +/-2.2 %, 19 times out of 20.
*PEI and NL have fewer than 40 respondents, use with caution.
Businesses still holding debt taken on because of the pandemic
Businesses that have not recovered from pandemic-related stress
Businesses making less than their normal revenues
Still under pandemic stress
With pandemic debt
Less than normal revenues
Canadian small businesses
By province
Alberta
66%
81%
62%
British Columbia
60%
81%
58%
Saskatchewan
54%
66%
44%
Manitoba
63%
84%
64%
Ontario
64%
80%
60%
Quebec
67%
72%
55%
New Brunswick
67%
72%
48%
Nova Scotia
65%
82%
51%
Prince Edward Island*
85%
46%
23%
Newfoundland and Labrador*
57%
83%
74%
70%
The overall economy
62%
Fall in consumer spending
50%
Business cash flow
48%
Physical health impacts
47%
Debt
Top worries
Source: CFIB, How many Canadian businesses are at risk of permanently closing due to COVID-19?. July 2020.
Special feature
Top reasons open businesses have below normal sales
58%
Fewer customers
18%
Staff unavailable
20%
Government restrictions limit business activities
27%
Operational challenges with online sales, processing times, shipping, supply chain, etc.
48%
Customers spending less
Methodology
Recovery spans for each sector are calculated by using the share of businesses that are already at normal revenues as of mid-September as a starting point, then applying the progress rate registered for each sector between June and September, in a linear forward fashion, until most businesses can reach normal revenues again. See the full results in CFIB’s report Are Canadian small businesses headed for an L-shaped recovery?.
*Provincial data is updated on a monthly basis. Please see source below for details.
Staffing issues persist for small businesses across Canada
Only 45% of Canadian small businesses are fully staffed.
Furthermore, 25% cannot find all the staff they need. This includes businesses that have difficulty recruiting, retaining staff, or getting them back to work or working the required hours.
The “Other” category (30%) regroups small businesses that do not have staff for this time of year (don’t typically have staff, new business, seasonal business) or that have a reduced demand for staffing compared to normal years, such as a temporary or a permanent slowdown in their activities.
