One in five small businesses won’t survive the next six months, says CFIB

The pain from U.S. tariffs may be too much for small businesses to endure in the long-term, says the Canadian Federation for Independent Businesses (CFIB).

Today, the CFIB released a new survey report that suggests 20 per cent of small Canadian businesses will have no choice but to close their doors if nothing changes.

“Small businesses don’t have a lot of runway left,” Corinne Pohlmann, Executive Vice-President of Advocacy at CFIB said in a statement.

“The worst outcome for Canada in the trade war is a bad deal, but the second worst outcome is the never-ending uncertainty small business owners have been wrestling with for the past six months. The federal government needs to provide some stability and return tariff revenue to help small businesses. We’ve suggested several options, including temporarily reducing the federal small business tax rate to zero or a tariff rebate designed on earlier models, like the carbon tax rebate.”

CFIB data shows that the Canada-U.S. trade war is squeezing businesses on every front. Nearly two-third face higher expenses while also seeing lower revenues, supply chain disruptions and paused investments.

“Canada can’t fix its productivity crisis without empowering its entrepreneurs,” Pohlmann said.

“If the government wants to build one Canadian economy, it needs to ensure small businesses are part of the solution and that includes providing them with tariff support during this very challenging time.”

READ MORE: Ford announces $70M in support for Ontario workers affected by tariffs