Toronto, August 20, 2024 – Over two-thirds (67%) of Ontario small businesses have experienced disruptions due to local construction projects in the past five years, and 69% have been affected by multiple projects during the same period. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) draws attention to this growing issue across Canada with its report released today titled Hard hats and hard times: Public construction impacts on small businesses.
“Infrastructure needs continue to increase with our growing population and aging infrastructure,” said Julie Kwiecinski, CFIB’s director of provincial affairs for Ontario. “Everyone – including small business owners – loves a finished project, but small firms have to survive to the project’s end before they can benefit.”
Of the Ontario small- and medium-sized enterprises affected, 23% (or 104,362) report that construction disruptions have had a major impact on their business. On average, Ontario small firms have been forced to endure 481 days of construction-related disruptions, which represents 26% of the time over the past five years.
“Small businesses face a myriad of issues when local construction projects take place, from traffic congestion and dust and debris, to losing customers and navigating logistical disruptions,” said Emily Boston, CFIB senior policy analyst and an author of CFIB’s report. “A large portion of construction costs can be avoided with better planning and execution, and by giving more consideration to the realities of local businesses.”
Ontario small firms lost on average 25% of their revenues during the most significant construction project affecting them over the past five years, and on top of that, spent around $10,000 in extra expenses such as cleaning and repairs.
While each construction project is unique in its duration, scale and disruptiveness, the top construction impacts affecting Ontario small businesses are traffic congestion, dust, debris or noise (61%), customers and staff having trouble accessing their business or finding parking (52%), delivery and logistics disruptions (49%), sales decreases (42%), and business owners suffering significant stress (25%).
Over two-thirds (69%) of Ontario small businesses say they should be compensated by government when a public construction project has a major impact on their business operations. CFIB urges governments to establish comprehensive construction mitigation plans with compensation to offset costs for impacted businesses, improved planning and communication strategies, and clarified roles for all levels of government involved.
“In Ontario, we’re asking the province to create a clear legal path for municipalities to provide direct funding or property tax holidays to small businesses for revenue losses caused by major municipally-funded construction projects,” said Kwiecinski. “At the same time, the Ontario government should introduce a small business construction mitigation fund for provincially-funded and controlled construction, like Metrolinx transit projects.”
For media inquiries or interviews, please contact:
Dariya Baiguzhiyeva, CFIB
647-464-2814
public.affairs@cfib.ca
About CFIB
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is Canada’s largest association of small- and medium-sized businesses with 97,000 members across every industry and region, including 38,000 in Ontario. 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.
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