Calgary, February 11, 2021 –The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB)’s latest Small Business Recovery Dashboard shows Alberta small businesses continue to struggle during the pandemic:
“February tends to be a low-sales month, but this February is a real heartbreaker,” said Laura Jones, CFIB’s executive vice-president. “Small businesses are now 11 months into seeing their revenues plummet. Many have been forced to shut down even as Amazon and big box sales soar.”
The recovery rates for Alberta small businesses in the hospitality (restaurants, hotels, caterers) and arts and recreation (gyms, venues, arcades) paint a grim and worrisome picture:
|
|
Hospitality industry |
Arts and recreation industry |
Alberta average |
|
% fully open |
6 |
19 |
65 |
|
% full staffed |
3 |
25 |
40 |
|
% with normal sales |
7 |
0 |
23 |
|
% at risk of closure |
57 |
44 |
22 |
|
% need additional provincial support |
97 |
87 |
65 |
“Alberta small business in the hospitality and arts and recreation industries are reporting dismal sales, and their risk of closure is more than double the provincial average,” said Annie Dormuth, Alberta provincial affairs director. “Furthermore, nearly two thirds (65%) of all Alberta small businesses agree they need additional provincial supports. With back to normal operations still months away the Alberta government needs to provide additional supports in the form of another top-up through the SME Relaunch Grant to help small businesses survive.”
Regionally, businesses are recovering at different paces, with Ontario seeing the lowest results in all three categories:
|
|
BC |
AB |
SK |
MB |
ON |
QC |
NB |
NS |
PEI* |
NL |
|
% fully open |
66 |
65 |
74 |
59 |
38 |
51 |
64 |
78 |
78 |
71 |
|
% fully staffed |
43 |
40 |
42 |
47 |
34 |
39 |
42 |
64 |
60 |
46 |
|
% with normal sales |
34 |
23 |
30 |
31 |
20 |
28 |
33 |
39 |
38 |
43 |
*PEI has fewer than 40 respondents and is calculated as an average of the results from the January and February surveys.
For media enquiries or interviews, please contact:
Annie Dormuth, CFIB
Alberta provincial affairs director
403 700-1945
annie.dormuth@cfib.ca
Source for CFIB data:
CFIB, preliminary results for the Your Voice – February 2021 survey, results from February 4 to 8, 2021, n = 3,554. For comparison purposes, a probability sample with the same number of respondents would have a margin of error of +/-1.6%, 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, including 10,000 in Alberta. 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.