Today marks the beginning of Small Business Month in Canada and the Canadian Federation of Independent Business is kicking off a campaign to thank and celebrate the entrepreneurs who power the national economy despite mounting challenges.
While conditions over the past six months appear to be improving, one in four enterprises are still reporting they are in poor health, explained the CFIB.
In fact, more than half of owners (53 per cent) would not advise someone to start a business right now. Most cite difficulty keeping up with the cost of operating (89 per cent), the high tax burden (72 per cent), stress about the economy (76 per cent), and excessive government paperwork (62 per cent) as the main reasons behind their belief that now is not a good time to start a new venture.
Ryan Mallough, CFIB’s vice-president of legislative affairs for Ontario
“It’s getting harder and harder to run, let alone start, a business. From coast to coast, we’re seeing longtime, iconic places that have been in business for decades fold under the pressures of high costs and reduced demand,” said Ryan Mallough, CFIB’s vice-president of legislative affairs for Ontario. “Our communities are built on the success of these local businesses. It’s important to celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit and the people who take the risks to keep our communities thriving.
“If we want to boost our lagging productivity, create more jobs, and keep our local economies vibrant, we need to do more to support small businesses. Governments have a big role in this, but as citizens we can all do our part to uplift small business owners.”
On Tuesday, the CFIB launched its Big Thank You Contest where Canadians can win big while thanking their favourite small businesses.
Big Thank You Contest launched for Small Business Month
The Big Thank You Contest is presented by CFIB with support from Scotiabank, Interac Corp. (Interac), and Chase. Consumers can enter weekly draws by visiting SmallBusinessEveryDay.ca and leaving a thank-you note to their favourite small Canadian business.
“Every time you spend a dollar at a small business or locally-owned franchise, 66 cents is recirculated into the local economy. In this way, we’re all tied to our local small businesses’ success,” said Emily Boston, CFIB’s senior policy analyst. “Starting a small business is a leap of faith— saying thank you is the least we can do for those who have taken that leap.”
The winners— one supporter and the place they thanked— are announced every week.
Entrants can win a cash prize of $750 to shop locally and a Big Thank You gift box full of small business products. The winning enterprise they thank will also receive a cash prize of $2,000, a Big Thank You box, and a one-year CFIB membership.
Owners can download CFIB’s digital toolkits, which include printable posters and customizable social images, to promote the contest and local shopping.
The CFIB is Canada’s largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 97,000 members across every industry and region.
Meanwhile, the CFIB also announced Tuesday it welcomes news from the federal government on several important changes that will reduce some of the host of cost pressures facing Canadian small business owners.
These announcements follow many months of CFIB’s advocacy work and over 31,000 signed petitions from small business owners on these issues, it said.
Here’s the organization’s comments on those issues:
On carbon tax
“CFIB is relieved to learn the federal government will return the $2.5 billion small business share of carbon tax revenue that has been stuck in Ottawa for the past five years,” said Dan Kelly, CFIB president. “It’s good news that this money will be returned to small businesses by direct deposit or cheque before the end of the year. These are not trivial amounts of money. For example, a company with 10 employees in Alberta will receive nearly $6,000 in carbon tax rebates, a 25-person company in Saskatchewan will receive nearly $29,000, a 50-person business in Manitoba will receive $24,000 and a 100-person employer in Ontario will get $40,000.”
Rebates will be based on the number of T4s issued by an employer, including those issued to the business owner, their family, part-time, and seasonal workers, as well as for positions that turn over. Smaller rebates will be received by SMEs in all four Atlantic provinces as they have paid the federal carbon tax for only one year. Only incorporated firms (CCPCs) with between 1-499 employees will be eligible.
CFIB is pleased that the federal government has extended the deadline to December 31, 2024, for those who have not yet filed their 2023 corporate income taxes.
While CFIB welcomes the federal government delivering on its commitment to return a portion of carbon tax revenues to small businesses, the vast majority of small firms (83%) now oppose the carbon tax. CFIB will continue to call on all political parties to scrap the carbon tax at the earliest possibility.
On credit card fee reductions
As of October 19, 2024, the cost of accepting credit cards will be reduced by an average of 27% for small businesses processing less than $300,000 in annual Visa sales and $175,000 in Mastercard sales. Small firms will qualify for a 0.95% average interchange rate for in-store sales and a 0.1% cut in ecommerce fees.
“Most small firms should see savings of between $300 and $400 for every $100,000 in Visa sales and $200 for every $100,000 in annual Mastercard sales,” Kelly added. CFIB estimates that over 60% of its 97,000 members will qualify for the savings.
“CFIB will be closely monitoring all credit card processors to ensure the full value of the savings is passed on to the small businesses counting on this relief,” Kelly said. “We are pleased that the federal government has made this expectation very clear, and we will be working with Minister Freeland, Visa and Mastercard to ensure card processors do not try to keep the savings intended for small firms.”
CFIB will also encourage the industry to regularly review and increase the thresholds to allow more small firms to qualify for the savings.
On the Code of Conduct for the Payment Card Industry
Today’s revisions to the Code are a positive step in improving fairness in the payments industry for small firms, including an improved process around timelines and expectations for complaints and better protection around contracted bundles.
“Updates to the Code will provide greater clarity and help businesses understand what rates they will pay. These changes have been a long time coming and will lead to a better balance of market power between small firms and industry giants,” Kelly added.
