Celebrating Small Business Week is more important than ever this year, as sales remain dangerously low

CFIB expands #SmallBusinessEveryDay campaign with launch of its Big Thank You contest

Toronto, October 19, 2020 – Today marks the first day of Small Business Week, but the context is a lot less celebratory this year as small businesses face one of the biggest crises in decades and recovery remains a long way off, according to the latest data on the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB)’s Small Business Recovery Dashboard:

• 72 per cent of businesses are fully open (compared to 70 per cent last month)
• 48 per cent are fully staffed (compared to 42 per cent last month)
• 30 per cent are making normal sales (compared to 30 per cent last month).

“Small Business Week is typically an opportunity to celebrate the local businesses that make our communities great: the barbershop that always gets your hair just right, the independent grocer that sponsors your kid’s hockey team, and the print shop down the street that gave you your first job,” said Laura Jones, Executive Vice-President at CFIB. “This year, the stakes are much higher—small businesses have been pummelled by months of closures and restrictions, many have had to lay off valued staff, and sales remain dangerously low. They need our support now more than ever.”

Many businesses rely on the upcoming holiday season to end the year in the black, but more than half are concerned that consumer spending will remain low even after the COVID-19 crisis. CFIB encourages Canadians to support their independent businesses during Small Business Week and in the months to come by choosing to shop local whenever possible. 

Launch of new Big Thank You contest for #SmallBusinessEveryDay
To encourage business owners and consumers to support each other heading into the holidays, CFIB is launching the Big Thank You contest as part of its #SmallBusinessEveryDay campaign. The contest is sponsored by eBay Canada, Scotiabank and Mastercard. Consumers can enter to win one of six Big Thank You boxes that include $500 cash to spend at a local business by sending a thank you message to their favourite business at smallbusinesseveryday.ca. The business that was nominated by the draw winner will also win a Big Thank You box, including a $2,500 cash prize.* 

To highlight the unique products small businesses have to offer, CFIB has included a treat from a small business from every province and territory in each box, including chocolate-covered potato chips from Cows in PEI, liquid cake batter from Jenna Rae Cakes in Manitoba, and pillow spray from Walrus Home in BC. The contest will run for the next six weeks, with one draw per week. 

“The Big Thank You is our way of shining a light on the mutual gratitude that has helped so many small businesses and their customers feel supported during the pandemic,” added Jones. “There is a growing movement of Canadians rallying around their favourite independent businesses. As we’re heading into the holiday season, we would like to see the movement grow even bigger.” 

For media enquiries or interviews, please contact:
Milena Stanoeva, CFIB
647-464-2814
public.affairs@cfib.ca 

Source of CFIB data 
CFIB, preliminary results for COVID-19 recovery survey – September 2020, results from October 8 to October 15, 2020, n = 2,196. For comparison purposes, a probability sample with the same number of respondents would have a margin of error of +/-2.1%, 19 times out of 20.

About CFIB
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is Canada’s largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 110,000 members across every industry and region. CFIB is dedicated to increasing business owners’ chances of success by driving policy change at all levels of government, providing expert advice and tools, and negotiating exclusive savings. Learn more at cfib.ca.

About #SmallBusinessEveryDay
The #SmallBusinessEveryDay campaign encourages local shopping, promotes initiatives to support small business and provides posters and other tools for businesses to use. It is supported by Scotiabank, Chase Merchant Services, eBay Canada, Intuit Canada and Interac Corp. To find out more about being a media sponsor please contact marketing@cfib.ca.

_{*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Open October 19, 2020 at 7:00 am ET to November 29, 2020 at 11:59 pm ET to legal residents of Canada who have reached the age of majority in their jurisdiction of residence. Six weekly prizes available each consisting of: one giftbox for winner (approx. value $1290 CDN each) and one giftbox for nominated independent Canadian business (approx. value $3650 CDN each). The number of weekly prizes will diminish as awarded each week during the contest period. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received in applicable week. Math skill test and internet access required. Rules: cfib.ca/sbedrules}