Make Manitoba small businesses your valentine this year | CFIB

CFIB latest recovery dashboard shows Manitoba small businesses need our love now more than ever 

Winnipeg, February 11, 2021 –The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB)’s latest Small Business Recovery Dashboard shows small businesses continue to struggle during the pandemic:

• 51 per cent of small businesses are fully open (compared to 47 per cent last month)
• 39 per cent are fully staffed (compared to 36 per cent last month)
• 25 per cent are making normal sales (compared to 22 per cent last month)

“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.” 

In Manitoba, the Small Business Recovery Dashboard for February shows: 

• 59 per cent of businesses are fully open (compared to 45 per cent last month)
• 47 per cent are fully staffed (compared to 40 per cent last month)
• 31 per cent are making normal sales (compared to 29 per cent last month)

“Even with additional businesses set to partially open tomorrow across Manitoba, we know getting back to normal is still months away for most,” noted Jonathan, CFIB’s director, prairie region. “It is critical for the provincial government to immediately renew the Manitoba Bridge Grant to help those businesses impacted by ongoing restrictions.”

Regionally, businesses are recovering at different paces, with Ontario seeing the lowest results in all three categories:
 

_{*PEI has fewer than 40 respondents and is calculated as an average of the results from the January and February surveys.}

Make small business your valentine this year

"Valentine’s Day is a great opportunity to show double the love. Buy flowers, chocolate, wine, and other gifts for your special people at a local business. Going to a neighbourhood restaurant or ordering takeout is also a great way to celebrate. And if you can, be extra generous. Who doesn’t need a little Valentine’s Day boost this year?” added Corinne Pohlmann, CFIB’s senior vice-president of national affairs.

For media enquiries or interviews with Laura Jones, CFIB’s executive vice-president, or Corinne Pohlmann, CFIB’s senior vice-president of national affairs, please contact Milena Stanoeva, Manager of Public Affairs, at 647-464-2814 or email public.affairs@cfib.ca.

To arrange an interview with Jonathan Alward, CFIB's director, prairie region, please call (431) 998-4498, or e-mail msman@cfib.ca. You can also follow CFIB Manitoba on Twitter at @cfibMB.

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. 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. 

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.