The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB)’s annual Big Thank You Contest, encouraging Canadians to thank and celebrate small businesses, is back from June 30 to July 14 this year.
“Kick off Canada Day celebrations supporting your local, independent businesses. We’ve seen a very strong “Buy Canada” sentiment during the first half of the year. With continuing tariff threats, supply chain challenges and cost uncertainty, we want to make sure that momentum carries through the second half of the year. There’s no better way to support Canadian than to shop at your local Canadian-owned small businesses,” said Ryan Mallough, CFIB’s vice-president of legislative affairs.
New CFIB data shows that since the start of the trade war, nearly four in ten (39%) small businesses have seen increased sales of Canadian/locally made products – especially in the retail (44%), hospitality (43%) and wholesale (41%) sectors. Businesses that actively promote these products were more than twice as likely to see growth in sales of Canadian/locally made products (55% vs 23%).
The Big Thank You Contest is presented by CFIB in partnership with Scotiabank, Interac Corp. (Interac), and Chase Payment Solutions. Small business supporters can enter two weekly draws by visiting SmallBusinessEveryDay.ca and leaving a thank you message to their favourite small Canadian business.
The CFIB is Canada’s largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 100,000 members across every industry and region.
Each week, one supporter and the business they thanked will be drawn as winners. The supporter will receive a $1,000 cash prize to spend locally, and a Big Thank You gift box filled with products from small businesses across Canada and the contest’s sponsors. The business will receive $3,000, a gift box, and a free one-year CFIB membership. An additional $3,000 bonus prize will go to the business with the most nominations at the end of the contest.
“Small businesses support a whole local ecosystem. They employ local residents, support local causes and source their goods and services from other local businesses,” added Mallough. “Sixty-six cents of every dollar spent local, stays local. Every time Canadians choose to shop at a small business, they strengthen their communities.”
To help businesses get involved, CFIB has created free digital toolkits, with printable posters and customizable social images to promote the contest and shopping local. For more information on how to support small businesses, check out SmallBusinessEveryDay.ca.
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