Winnipeg, August 5, 2020 – Just over one-third of Manitoba small businesses are back to making normal sales, according to new data from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB)’s Small Business Recovery Dashboard, part of its #SmallBusinessEveryDay campaign. Manitoba’s small business owners worry consumer spending is going to continue to be muted even as more businesses reopen across the province.
CFIB’s latest Small Business Recovery Dashboard results for Manitoba show:
Nationally, CFIB’s latest Small Business Recovery Dashboard results show:
“This summer has been a hard one for small businesses. As Canadians drive or walk through their neighbourhoods, they see more open shops and restaurants and may believe that businesses are back to normal operations. But behind the counter, the story is often very different,” said Dan Kelly, CFIB president. “Nationally, only a quarter of small firms report their sales are at normal levels, and another quarter remain down by 50 per cent or more.”
Nationally, more than three out of five business owners are worried that consumer spending will remain low, even following the COVID-19 crisis. Last week, CFIB released a report showing just over one in ten Manitoba small businesses (4,279) are at risk of going under as a result of COVID-19, on top of the ones that have already closed. Manitoba could see as few as 1,071 businesses shut their doors permanently or many as 5,475 depending on how its recovery goes.
“Now, more than ever, small businesses need consumer support to ensure they survive through the remainder of the summer,” added Jonathan Alward, CFIB’s director, prairie region. “We encourage everyone to take the #SmallBusinessEveryDay challenge and support small firms by shopping at small local retailers rather than big box stores.”
To arrange an interview with Jonathan Alward, CFIB’s director, prairie region on the provincial results, please call 431-998-4498 or email msman@cfib.ca. You can also follow CFIB Manitoba on Twitter @cfibMB.
For media enquiries or interviews with Dan Kelly, CFIB’s president, please contact: Milena Stanoeva, Media Relations Specialist at 647-464-2814 or email public.affairs@cfib.ca.
Source for CFIB data
These are preliminary results for Your Business and COVID-19 – Survey #18, a new CFIB online survey started on July 31, 2020, completed by 4,669 CFIB members. For comparison purposes, a probability sample with the same number of respondents would have a margin of error of plus or minus 1.4 percent, 19 times out of 20. Results are compared to the Small Business Recovery Dashboard data released on June 25th.
About CFIB
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is Canada’s largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 110,000 members (4,800 in Manitoba) 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 is an extension of CFIB’s annual Small Business Saturday. The 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, Interac Corp and Star Metroland Media. To find out more about being a media sponsor please contact marketing@cfib.ca.