Business blues are looming over the Prairies, in the Canadian Federation of Independent Business’s November Business Barometer. Small business confidence dropped almost four points to 56.1.
Optimism fell in 7 of 10 provinces, but the decline in Alberta and Saskatchewan were the most significant. Alberta’s index dropped almost 9 points to 44.7 and Saskatchewan’s fell by almost 6 to 44.1.
Forty-one per cent of owners report that their businesses are in good shape—in line with the long run averages—but those who say their businesses are in poor shape shot up to 18 per cent, the highest share seen since the resource crunch in 2016.
Alberta Director Annie Dormuth comments on the trend.
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