Toronto, March 26, 2026 – On behalf of our 40,000 small business members in all sectors across the province, we applaud the Ontario government for listening and including in today’s budget a permanent decrease of 3.2%-2.2% to the Small Business Tax Rate that will benefit 375,000 small businesses, addressing CFIB members’ top priority.
Our members were hoping this budget would feature a new line item they could call their own, and the Ontario government delivered.
In over 50 recent meetings at Queen’s Park, CFIB showed elected representatives – including Finance Minister Bethlenfalvy – the urgency to small businesses and the economy of lowering the Small Business Tax Rate. To date, small business owners have signed over 11,000 CFIB petitions supporting tax changes.
We expect this investment will be returned in spades, since small businesses have told us they would capitalize on any new tax savings by directing them to economy-stimulating measures, including increasing employee compensation, expanding their operations, and hiring new employees.
Lower taxes will help small businesses thrive, not just survive, as economic uncertainty continues with U.S. tariffs and other global pressures like high oil prices increasing the cost of doing business. Based on CFIB’s February 2026 survey data, almost three-quarters (72%) of Ontario small businesses across all sectors are being impacted by U.S. tariffs, including 28% directly and 44% indirectly.
We will review the budget in detail in the coming days to closely examine any other measures that could impact our members.
-Angela Drennan, Vice-President, Legislative Affairs (Ontario)
-Julie Kwiecinski, Director of Provincial Affairs (Ontario)
-Joseph Falzata, Policy Analyst (Ontario)
For media inquiries or interviews, please contact:
Dariya Baiguzhiyeva, CFIB
647-464-2814
public.affairs@cfib.ca
About CFIB
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is Canada’s largest association of small- and medium-sized businesses with more than 103,000 members across every industry and region, including 40,000 in Ontario. CFIB is dedicated to increasing business owners’ chances of success by driving policy change at all levels of government, providing expert advice and tools, and negotiating exclusive savings. Learn more at cfib.ca.