
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
April 2025
CFIB’s April 2025 Your Voice survey results send a strong and urgent message: small businesses are under intense pressure and are seeking greater predictability, stability, and relief. Amid rising costs and uncertainty, entrepreneurs continue to show resilience—but they cannot meet these challenges alone. They are calling for clearer government direction, smarter trade policies, and practical supports to help them compete and thrive. Here are the key takeaways:
Uncertainty and Rising Costs are Top of Mind
Small business owners across Canada are grappling with mounting challenges. Their top concerns? Economic and political uncertainty (56%), trade uncertainty (54%), rising operational costs (53%), and taxes (51%).
Tariffs Adding to the Pressure
Tariffs are compounding the financial pressure on small firms. Canadian retaliatory measures and U.S. tariffs on aluminum, steel, and goods not covered under the Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) are having the broadest impact, while other tariffs are less widely felt. Meanwhile, China’s tariffs on Canadian agricultural and seafood products are taking a significant toll: about 39% of agri-businesses report being affected, including 25% who have been hit directly.
When asked about trade strategy, there is strong support for expanding trade ties beyond the U.S. and China, and renegotiating CUSMA.
Compliance with CUSMA Regulations
Understanding rules, determining origin of goods, and internal capacity (expertise and time) are the top CUSMA compliance challenges. For many, the complexity of the regulations makes it difficult to know where to start—but clearer guidance, training, and practical tools could provide meaningful support
Dive Deeper into the Numbers
Explore the interactive dashboard below to delve into the data from our April 2025 Your Voice survey. You can filter the data by province, sector, business size, and age for SMEs across the nation.
Marvin Cruz
Director of Research
Explore more April 2025 insights and our extensive survey collection below.
'Your Voice' survey collection
Report | Download |
---|---|
Your Voice April 2025 Topics covered:
|
PDF (499 KB) |
Your Voice January 2025 Topics covered:
|
PDF (5.9 MB) |
Your Voice December 2024 Topics covered:
|
PDF (7.8 MB) |
Your Voice October 2024 Topics covered:
|
PDF (6.2 MB) |
Your Voice September 2024 Topics covered:
|
PDF (6.0 MB) |
Your Voice August 2024 Topics covered:
|
PDF (1.6 MB) |
Your Voice June 2024 Topics covered:
InsightBiz Blog: Empowering small businesses: The critical role of reducing taxes and costs
|
PDF (16.8 MB) |
Your Voice April 2024 Topics covered:
InsightBiz Blog: Small Business Financial Health Amid CEBA Loan Repayment & Carbon Tax Hikes |
PDF (370 KB) |
Your Voice February 2024 Topics covered:
InsightBiz Blog: Takeaways from our February 2024 omnibus survey: Current top challenge at Canadian firms and their preferred tax measures |
PDF (14.6 MB) |
Your Voice December 2023 Topics covered:
|
PDF (379 KB) |
Your Voice November 2023 |
PDF (623 KB) |
Your Voice September 2023 |
PDF (377 KB) |
Your Voice July 2023 |
PDF (523 KB) |
Your Voice May 2023 |
PDF (5.55 MB) |
Your Voice April 2023 |
PDF (4.82 MB) |
Your Voice February 2023 |
PDF (666 KB) |
Your Voice January 2023 |
PDF (688 KB) |
Your Voice November 2022 |
PDF (880 KB) |
Your Voice October 2022 |
PDF (449 KB) |
Your Voice September 2022 |
PDF (877 KB) |
Your Voice June 2022 |
PDF (925 KB) |
Your Voice April 2022 |
PDF (1.2 MB) |
Your Voice February 2022 |
PDF (2 MB) |
Your Voice January 2022 |
PDF (831 KB) |
Your Voice November 2021 |
PDF (783 KB) |
Your Voice October 2021 |
PDF (427 KB) |
Your Voice September 2021 |
PDF (632 KB) |
Your Voice August 2021 |
PDF (485 KB) |
Your Voice July 2021 |
PDF (760 KB) |
Your Voice July 2021 (Infographic) |
PDF (4.8 MB) |
Your Voice June 2021 |
PDF (476 KB) |
Your Voice April 2021 (Infographic) |
PDF (849 KB) |
Your Voice March 2021 |
PDF (1.9 MB) |
Your Voice February 2021 |
PDF (1.4 MB) |
Your Voice January 2021 |
PDF (2.1 MB) |