Every other month, CFIB members lend their opinions to 'Your Voice,' a survey exploring a variety of current topics. The latest takeaways are showcased in a series of informative charts that summarize these findings.

Your Voice Highlights

August 2024

Navigating Challenges and Investment Decisions for SMEs

The CFIB’s August Your Voice survey was conducted to gather insights into the key challenges and priorities of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Canada. The survey aimed to identify the most pressing concerns affecting business operations, investment decisions, and future growth prospects, offering valuable data to inform policymakers and stakeholders about the current state of the SME sector.

Business challenges

The findings reveal that taxes, operational costs—including rent, utilities, insurance, and inputs—and labor costs are the most significant challenges facing small businesses today. These issues highlight the ongoing pressures within the SME sector. Interestingly, the impact of these challenges varies by business size, with smaller businesses disproportionately burdened by taxes and operational expenses, while larger firms contend more with labor costs.

Capital Investment

Investment intentions among small businesses present a mixed outlook. Looking ahead to the next two years, 43% of SMEs plan to maintain their current level of investment in capital purchases, such as machinery, equipment, software, and buildings. However, a concerning trend is emerging, with one-third of businesses expecting to reduce their capital expenditures. This potential downturn in investment poses a significant risk to Canada’s productivity growth, particularly in key sectors such as agriculture and wholesale, where 43% and 35% of businesses, respectively, are expected to cut back on capital purchases. 

These investment challenges are further compounded by broader economic and policy conditions. A substantial 71% of business cite the current economic environment, and 62% highlight policy challenges as key deterrents investing in machinery and equipment. The main driver to investment in machinery and equipment is to maintain operational stability, such as the maintenance and replacement of existing assets. Equipment costs remain the top concern, cited by 69% of businesses, followed by the overall high cost of doing business (56%) and cash flow constraints (50%). 

Understanding and addressing the challenges SMEs face is crucial for ensuring their continued success and growth, while safeguarding their role in driving Canada’s economy.  

Explore the interactive dashboard below to delve into the data from our August 2024 YV survey. Analyze responses on business challenges and capital investment. You can filter the data by province, sector, business size, and age for SMEs across the nation.

Marvin Cruz

Director of Research

Explore more August 2024 insights and our extensive survey collection below.