Small businesses urge the New Brunswick government to provide stability and cost relief ahead of Fall Legislature

Moncton, October 19, 2025 – Ahead of the fall sitting of the New Brunswick Legislature, small businesses across the province are calling on government to focus on addressing the current uncertainty in the economy.

Short- and long-term optimism remain low in the province as shortages of skilled labour (63%), weak consumer demand (40%) and sustained cost pressures continue to haunt small businesses.

“Small business need stability and cost relief. We’ve brought forward all our recommendations to the appropriate ministers and elected officials, we trust government will actively consider the concerns of our over 3,700 members in the province” said Louis-Philippe Gauthier, Atlantic Vice-President for the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses (CFIB).

CFIB highlights the following recommendations made to the New Brunswick government:

• Property Tax Reform: Government committed during the election campaign to providing municipalities with additional taxation powers. Government should forgo it’s promise and not eliminate the fixed property tax multiplier for commercial properties. Furthermore, government should have a plan to fully eliminate the provincial property tax and align with the province of Newfoundland and Labrador which perceives no revenue from property taxes.
• Small Business Taxation: New Brunswick will have the highest provincial small business tax rate in Atlantic Canada in 2026. The small business tax rate is of 1% in Prince Edward Island, 1.5% in Nova Scotia and the new government in Newfoundland and Labrador will be setting its rate at 1%. New Brunswick should reduce its small business tax rate from 2.5% to 1% and increase the threshold from $500,000 to $700,000.
• Construction Mitigation: With 68% of business owners in the Miramichi stating that the closure of the Centennial Bridge for maintenance will have a negative impact on their business and one in three foresee losing their customers either temporarily or permanently, CFIB is recommending government establish a contingency fund to support businesses during this project.
• Minimum Wage: As highlighted in CFIB’s report Affordability, minimum wages, and living wages: Striking a balance for small businesses, CFIB recommends tying minimum wage increase to increases to the median wage and maintaining the single annual increase schedule of April 1^st.

For media enquiries or interviews, please contact:
Louis-Philippe Gauthier, Atlantic Vice-President, CFIB
(506) 961-5706
Louis-Philippe.Gauthier@cfib.ca

Methodology
October Business Barometer®: October findings are based on 596 responses from a stratified random sample of CFIB members, to a controlled-access web survey. Data reflects responses received from October 1-7. Findings are statistically accurate to +/- 4.0 per cent, 19 times in 20. Every new month, the entire series of indicators is recalculated for the previous month to include all survey responses received in that previous month. Measured on a scale between 0 and 100, an index above 50 means owners expecting their business’s performance to be weaker over the next three or 12 months outnumber those expecting stronger performance. Next Barometer release is on November 20.

About CFIB
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is Canada’s largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 100,000 members across every industry and region. 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.