With the holiday shopping season kicking off this weekend, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is calling on Canadians to choose local first.
“The holiday season is make-or-break for thousands of small businesses across the country,” said Ryan Mallough, CFIB vice-president of legislative affairs.
“We’ve seen a really great uptick in people buying local and Canadian goods as the Canada-U.S. trade battle continues. We want to see that trend continue on Small Business Saturday to kick off a strong finish to what has been an extremely turbulent year for small businesses.”
Small Business Saturday, presented by CFIB, is an annual celebration promoting shopping local at the start of the busy holiday shopping season. The initiative is part of CFIB’s ongoing efforts to champion small business resilience amid rising costs, labour shortages, and economic uncertainty, said the national organization, which is Canada’s largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 100,000 members across every industry and region.
According to CFIB’s latest data, one third (33%) of small businesses count on the upcoming holiday sales. Compared to last holiday season, one in five (20%) small firms expect lower sales revenue, while just over half (52%) expect sales to remain flat. CFIB’s Monthly Business Barometer® has shown lack of consumer demand as the top barrier to small business growth for more than two years.
“Supporting small businesses and choosing to shop intentionally is one of the easiest ways to strengthen our communities and economy. When you shop local, 66 cents of every dollar goes back into the community,” Mallough said. “This holiday season, support Canadian-owned businesses including franchises or check out your local business first instead of ordering from an online giant. Let’s make every dollar count.”
Canadians can visit SmallBusinessEveryDay.ca for free tools and resources to participate in Small Business Saturday and support local businesses year-round.
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