This has helped, as have the government programs offered to employers. Business associations and politicians urged holiday shoppers to support smaller retailers. In November, 61 per cent of Ontarians said they were making an effort to buy more from local businesses, according to unpublished data from Angus Reid data. Their hardship was compounded by the timing of second-wave lockdowns, which forced many retailers to shut their doors ahead of the holiday season that normally brings in an outsized share of their revenue.Ĭonsumers tried to stem the bleeding.
While large businesses were not immune to the fallout, smaller firms generally have less room to manoeuvre on their balance sheets. We saw this coming, as 23 per cent of small businesses nationwide said they were not financially prepared for a second wave, and 43 per cent of small businesses said they could not afford to take on additional debt, according to the Canadian Survey on Business Conditions. In Ontario, which accounts for nearly two-fifths of Canada’s economic activity, 55 per cent of small businesses shrank between June and November, according to the Ontario Chamber of Commerce. Government must be willing to take risks – albeit calculated ones – to address liquidity constraints for small businesses, modernize regulation, and ultimately propel entrepreneurship.Įven before the holiday season, it was apparent that many small businesses would not survive this crisis.
Filling the vacuum these businesses left behind will be one of the biggest feats of economic recovery. While springtime was difficult enough, the second wave and the restrictions that followed visibly transformed communities where case counts rose rapidly. The impact COVID-19 has had on Canada’s small businesses is nothing short of tragic.
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