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About Us

In business for your business. Since 1971.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is the country’s champion of small business. With over 95,000 members, we’re Canada’s largest non-profit organization devoted to creating and supporting an environment where your business can succeed.

Across Canada, we advocate for small business with politicians and decision-makers. As a non-partisan organization, we influence public policy based on our members’ views, ensuring that you have a chance to affect the laws and policies that affect your business.

We provide specialized business resources, including on-call counsellors, to help you navigate the daily challenges of running your business. We also offer partnerships with carefully selected service providers to deliver savings you won’t find elsewhere. And we keep you informed on key issues, so that you can focus on managing your business.

Our Mission & Vision

Your independent business is built on your ideas, plans, and aspirations. You dream of success, and our mission is to increase the chance of that happening by offering more resources, more value, and making sure your voice is heard at all levels of government.

We want to see a Canada where small businesses like yours can thrive. Everything we do is in pursuit of that vision.

I’m a business owner. What’s in it for me?

CFIB provides a personalized connection to practical resources, including advice from dedicated business counsellors, important business news, and tools and templates to help you manage your business. We’re in every province, coast to coast. We advocate for you, the Canadian independent business owner, and fight for fairer taxes, laws and regulations that will promote your success. Stronger small businesses mean a stronger Canada.

Being part of CFIB also means more value. We leverage the size of our membership base to negotiate great rates on products and services that help you save time, money, and frustration.
 

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Our History

It began in a bathtub.

One evening in 1969, John Bulloch, a teacher at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, was soaking in his tub and reading the new federal White Paper on taxation. He was livid. The federal government had proposed a 50% tax rate for Canadian small businesses. 

“The government exempted the powerful from its proposals, and proceeded to hammer small business and middle-income Canadians,” Bulloch said. After writing to the Finance Minister to denounce the White Paper and publicly sharing his letter, support poured in from across the country. The fury that followed led Bulloch and his supporters to form the Canadian Council for Fair Taxation, launch an all-out attack on the White Paper, and successfully have it withdrawn. 

Despite their victory, Bulloch knew the need to have a strong voice fighting for the interests of independent businesses would only grow. That realization led him to change the name and to create the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
 

Our Members

CFIB represents over 95,000 member businesses across Canada. Our membership reflects a diverse group of successful businesses of all sizes, in a wide range of industries, and in all major sectors of the economy.

Click here to download this data as a PDF.

Representing 95,000 members across Canada

In the Yukon, there are 150 members.

In the Northwest Territories, there are 150 members.

In British Columbia, there are 9000 members.

In Alberta, there are 9300 members.

In Saskatchewan, there are 4300 members.

In Manitoba, there are 4000 members.

In Ontario, there are 38000 members.

In Quebec, there are 20000 members.

In New Brunswick, there are 3700 members.

In Nova Scotia, there are 3900 members.

In Prince Edward Island, there are 800 members.

In Newfoundland and Labrador, there are 1700 members.

Our Initiatives

Every January, we ramp up our fight against the regulatory burden for independent business. During Red Tape Awareness Week, we celebrate innovations—and highlight some of the most excessive regulations—to show elected officials and bureaucrats how red tape affects your ability to run a successful business. Learn more about how we challenge politicians to take action.  

The Order of the Bear is a unique way of celebrating those in government who have done something to reduce the burden of red tape on small business owners like you. Nominate someone and meet past winners! 

 

Our Board

CFIB’s elected Board of Governors includes members with extensive business experience and expertise from every province, as well as our CEO, Dan Kelly, and our Executive Vice-President and Chief Strategic Officer, Laura Jones. The Board oversees the governance of CFIB.

Meet Our Board