Trade tensions hit two in three Canadian small business owners: survey
Sixty-seven percent of owners say the movement has had no noticeable impact on their business, while 24 percent report a positive impact so far in 2026.
Supporting the local economy (75 percent), supporting Canadian jobs (69 percent), and US tariffs (55 percent) ranked as consumers’ top motivators.
Prices (52 percent) and product availability (31 percent) were the leading barriers, a cost sensitivity that tracks with earlier CFIB findings that 65 percent of small businesses would raise consumer prices to offset tariffs.
Inflation or rising input costs (44 percent), weak customer spending (38 percent), rising fuel and energy costs (36 percent), and trade uncertainty (12 percent) are the pressures owners identified this year.
Twenty-two percent increased prices, 15 percent delayed or cancelled a planned expansion investment, 11 percent reduced staff or hours, and 10 percent paused hiring.
