New data shows economic spark of reopening extinguished by rising costs, talent shortage and debt load: Canadian Chamber of Commerce

(OTTAWA) – November 26, 2021 – The Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s Chief Economist, Stephen Tapp, issued the following statement regarding new data in today’s Canadian Survey on Business Conditions.

“Today’s survey shows that a robust recovery remains elusive for many businesses as a combination of rising input costs, a severe talent crunch, and supply chain disruptions are hampering their ability to bounce back from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The long, slow road to a private-sector led recovery continues after nearly two years of challenges.

Rising input costs remain the number one concern for Canadian businesses, with 43% identifying them as the biggest near-term obstacle. At the same time, the vast majority of businesses (87%) don’t expect their profitability to improve in the next 6 months, with one third expecting their profitability to fall into the New Year. These results suggest a significant part of private sector businesses will be standing still or even sliding backwards in the months ahead.

There are over million job vacancies across Canada and today’s data reflect strong business plans to hire and train staff over the next 12 months. Tightness in the labour market is expected to go from bad to worse in the coming months. Businesses need support that helps them develop focused and sustainable talent pipelines. 

Altogether, the costs of running a business in Canada remain a key concern. Government support going forward should focus on reducing the financial, tax and administrative burdens to help set them up for success.

Given all they are facing, it’s not surprising that 15% of companies foresee major challenges in repaying new government debt taken on during the pandemic. This is an area where government can have an immediate impact with debt relief across government support programs.”

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.

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For more information, please contact:
Phil Taylor
ptaylor@chamber.ca