Canadian Chamber/StatCan survey shows smaller businesses hit 50% harder by COVID-19

(OTTAWA, ON) – May 15, 2020 – The Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s Senior Director of Parliamentary Affairs, Susanna Cluff-Clyburne, issued the following statement today regarding new SME-related data within the recent Canadian Survey on Business Conditions:

“The Canadian Chamber/Statistics Canada Survey of Business demonstrates some surprising resilience of small- and medium-sized businesses despite having outsized disadvantages when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

The disadvantages? Compared to the national average, 50% more SMEs said they didn’t have enough cash to keep their doors open longer than 60 days without any revenue.  Similarly, nearly double the percentage of SMEs said they had experienced a 20% decrease in revenue.  

The positives? SMEs punched above their weight in testing working from home, with 55.5% saying they had done so compared to 45.5% of all businesses. Surprisingly, 40.9% of SMEs said they could remain open amid social distancing more than 6 months compared to 32.1% of all businesses.

These results demonstrate the agility of Canadian SMEs in responding to their new business conditions and optimism in their ability to adapt and succeed no matter what.”

About the Canadian Chamber of Commerce – Because Business Matters

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce helps build the businesses that support our families, our communities and our country. We do this by influencing government policy, by providing essential business services and by connecting businesses to information they can use, to opportunities for growth and to a network of local chambers, businesses, decision-makers and peers from across the country, in every sector of the economy and at all levels of government, as well as internationally. We are unapologetic in our support for business and the vital role it plays in building and sustaining our great nation.

For more information, please contact:

Phil Taylor
ptaylor@chamber.ca