CFIBideas

It is great to see a new federal red tape reduction strategy which includes several long-standing CFIB recommendations.  The new requirement for regulators to reduce regulatory burden costs by $2 for every $1 added is a significant step forward. CFIB statement on federal Cabinet Directive on Regulatory Competitiveness and Red Tape Reduction cfib-fcei.ca/en/media/cfib-s…

As Canadian counter-tariffs go into effect today, tens of thousands of additional small firms will be pulled onto the front line of the trade war. While there is support for retaliatory action - including among many business owners - this decision will affect more businesses than the US tariffs themselves. If reports of the resumption of trade talks are true, that would be good news. If not, government needs to ensure all affected businesses have access to supports. While it is good that the RDA programs have lowered their thresholds to $1M, government has confirmed that supports are not currently available to anyone with under $1M in sales. It also doesn’t appear the programs cover anyone affected by counter-tariffs. This needs to change immediately and is at the centre of CFIB lobbying. We are also pushing for a retroactive cut in the small business corp tax hike for all businesses. We’ve been in a trade war for over a year. It shouldn’t be like this!

Glad to see the federal government extended the gas tax holiday until the new year. This was the right decision and will help small businesses and consumers avoid another cost hike at this critical time.

I’m floating a new idea to government and would like comments from small business owners that may be on the list facing new 50% US tariffs or on the list facing Canadian retaliatory tariffs. If governments are serious about supporting small businesses to the other side of the trade war, what about a CRA program that would refund the first $50K US or $70K CAD in tariffs they pay in either direction? Your product would have to be on the US or Canadian tariff list. This could allow the Canadian small exporter to discount their product to cover the US impact. And help Canadian small firms facing cost hikes due to our retaliatory tariffs. And it could be funded by the tariff revenue Canada will collect in the weeks ahead. The thresholds could be adjusted if the tariff fight goes on. The tariff loan programs currently on offer usually require businesses to spend more, have too much paperwork or have too high a threshold to be useful to SMEs. A simplified program to exempt some or all of the tariff burden from our smallest businesses may fit the bill. Yes, we want more Canadian businesses to diversify customers or suppliers beyond the US. But I have many members who are keen to keep their 25+ year relationships with US companies and just want the trade war to end. This is testing well with my membership, but your thoughts would be helpful.

While we appreciate that the government is trying to move quickly, at first glance it looks like small business owners are being served the usual alphabet soup of complicated programs. They will be challenging for small business owners to figure out, let alone use. To date, the federal Regional Tariff Response Initiative (RTRI) delivered by Regional Development Agencies have excluded most small businesses from even applying.  Some required a minimum of $2 million in sales, others a minimum of 10 employees. Today’s announcement doesn’t appear to have changed these thresholds. Unless the thresholds are eliminated entirely, then the government will have failed in its promise to support small business owners. The new U.S. 50% tariff hits even the smallest home-based jewellery maker, so why would our government’s support exclude them? What we are looking for is one simple program for small businesses that removes as much of the burden of tariffs as possible, ideally delivered by the Canada Revenue Agency.  Instead, we have a patchwork of agencies and programs that no small business has ever heard of before, largely delivering loans to businesses that will have no ability to pay them back.  While I respect Canada’s need to respond to the U.S. threat, the giant list of counter tariffs will create their own severe challenges for many small businesses who have already done what they can to seek new sources of supply. Canada’s support programs need to be available for companies that use, import or distribute U.S. products too.   And for tens of thousands of other businesses, the trade war will mean more uncertainty, higher input costs and lower consumer demand due to its indirect impacts. CFIB is urging the federal government to deliver an immediate cut to the small business tax rate, retroactive to January 1, 2026. The government already publicly signaled a focus on small business in the 2026 fall budget. Doing it now would send a much-needed reassuring message to Canada's entrepreneurs. We’re also urging the government to extend the suspension of the federal excise tax on gasoline and diesel. It’s set to expire on Sept. 7, one day before retaliatory tariffs kick in. The timing couldn’t be worse to see taxes and fuel prices rise. I do recognize that it is very challenging to get programs right in a matter of days. As we did during the pandemic, CFIB stands ready to work closely with the federal government and all parliamentarians to find ways to make any supports work for Canada’s small business community. cfib-fcei.ca/en/media/cfib-s…

Thanks to Minister @melaniejoly for reaching out on Canada’s tariff response. CFIB stands ready to work with you and your team.

Pleased to hear Westjet and its union have reached a tentative agreement and that workers will soon return to their jobs. While this is good news, even a short job action takes its toll on the economy as travellers cancel or change plans just with the fear of a strike. And major transportation stoppages take days, often weeks to return to normal. 1/3 of Canadian small businesses rely on a strong summer tourism season to make it through the want lean months ahead. The major lesson is that Canada (with the support of all political parties) has sold the farm to court union votes. Legislative changes over the past decade have tipped the scale heavily in favour of unions, removing the balance that kept our economy moving. Canada is quickly developing the reputation of France, with sudden and more frequent stoppages in critical transportation, infrastructure, including ports, rail and airlines.

Over the past year and a half, Canadians have learned that only about one in ten trade threats from the President ever materializes. But we still must take this seriously as this one hits the very fundamentals of the CUSMA agreement. A huge swath of Canadian exports would now be affected, killing sales for many small and large businesses. And more than anything, this adds to the massive uncertainty that has stalled our economy for months.

Quite a gross way to treat a witness - one of CFIB’s team @vgasparro. You entirely missed her point. The problem is not just the communications from government - it is the nonsensical criteria themselves. CFIB is doing its job. You seem keen to shoot the messenger.

Good to meet with the Leader of the Opposition @PierrePoilievre & Deputy Leader @MelissaLantsman in Ottawa today. Canada is facing an entrepreneurial drought - with more business closures than openings over the past year. We spoke to the need for immediate action on tax and regulatory policy to help small businesses succeed.

While it is welcome news that the current year’s deficit is projected to be smaller than in the fall budget, it is worrisome there is no plan to return to a balanced budget. Government is projecting deficits over $50 billion for as far as the eye can see and small firms have learned the hard way that today’s deficits become tomorrow’s taxes.

The spring update does have one big win for small business – a significant reduction in Canada Pension Plan (CPP) premiums paid by employers and employees. Small firms are payroll intensive, and a cut in the premium rate from 9.9% to 9.5% will put $3 billion back into the pockets of employees and payroll budgets of employers. This is good news and helps offset the unwelcome projected increase in Employment Insurance (EI) rates. The other positive measures in today’s update include major changes to Canada’s apprenticeship supports focused on the trades. As long as we can keep the paperwork and red tape light, the new Apprenticeship Grant and $10,000 wage incentive for employers should be a big boost for small firms involved in Canada’s trades. CFIB is very pleased the government listened to its request to make the new Employee Ownership Trust tax exemption permanent. Employee ownership is a great way to provide more options for entrepreneurs when they are looking to sell. Making this measure permanent will help ensure this measure is considered by more small business owners.

Giant funds, like the proposed Canada Strong Fund, have been tried in past budgets, without moving the economic growth needle. What worries me is that Ottawa is trying to stimulate things for a few by using tax dollars and exemptions from normal rules, while ignoring the tougher job of encouraging entrepreneurship and facilitating growth in smaller businesses. CFIB will continue its call for a significant reduction in the small business corporate tax rate.