Canadian small business sales rise for four straight months
The results remain well below Xero’s historical average of 4.0 per cent year-over-year sales growth.
Alberta leads, B.C. lags
Regional performance diverged sharply. Alberta posted the strongest result at 5.9 per cent year-over-year growth, buoyed by elevated global oil prices, while Ontario grew 2.2 per cent. British Columbia fell 2.6 per cent year-over-year – recording declines in every month of the quarter — and the Maritime Provinces dropped 1.4 per cent.
“Alberta is doing a lot of the heavy lifting, and without it the national picture would probably look a lot worse,” said Louise Southall, Economist at Xero.
Exporters feel the pressure
The impact of US trade tensions is sharpest among internationally active businesses. According to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) September Business Barometer, exporters reported a 12-month confidence score of 38.6 points in September 2026, compared with 43.5 for importers and 52.2 for businesses not active internationally. In September 2024, no statistical difference existed between the three groups.
“No one wins from tariffs,” said Southall. “Consumers on both sides of the border pay more for the same goods, and exporters find it harder to make a sale against products that don’t carry the same tariff.”
