April 2026 Results
Key takeaways
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Small business long-term optimism improved modestly in April, following the sharp decline recorded in March.
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Business health remains weak, returning to levels last seen in fall 2025.
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Fuel costs are now the top cost constraint on business growth, affecting nearly three in four firms.
- Planned price increases for the next 12 months jumped to 3.2%, the highest level since March 2025.
Highlights of this month's results
Small business optimism in Canada
CFIB’s Business Barometer® long-term index, which is based on 12-month forward expectations for business performance, edged up to 58.5 in April—roughly 3 points higher than in March. The short-term optimism index, based on the 3-month outlook, also posted a modest gain, rising by about 1 point to 55.4.
Provincial picture
Provincial trends—calculated as three-month moving averages—show a mixed but largely stable pattern. Most provinces recorded little change in optimism compared with the previous month. Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador were the only provinces to post clearer improvements in outlook, likely reflecting support from higher oil prices and related spillover effects on local business conditions. Short-term confidence shows small gains across most provinces, reflecting normal seasonal effects.
Sectoral overview
Long-term sectoral confidence indices—based also on three-month moving averages—continue to show some lag in reflecting the modest improvement seen at the aggregate level. All industries remain above the 50 mark and are generally holding close to last month’s readings. Service-oriented industries remain slightly more optimistic than goods-producing sectors.
State of business health
The balance of opinion on the current state of business health was unchanged from March, leaving this indicator at a weak level.
Inflation indicators
The average price increase jumped up to 3.2% in April, marking the highest monthly change since the tariff war last March. The average wage increase increased slightly to 2.4%, the first notable shift after roughly 12 months of readings clustered around the 2.2% mark.
Other indicators
Full-time staffing plans show modest seasonal hiring signs with a larger share of employers planning to hire (19%) than to lay off staff (16%). These readings remain soft for this time of the year.
Insufficient demand remains the top constraint to business and production expansion as indicated by 53% of SMEs−still a very high level for the indicator.
Fuel costs posted the largest monthly increase, rising another 20 points in April alone. As a result, fuel has become the number one cost constraint for businesses, surpassing insurance, taxes, and wage costs. Concern over fuel costs has, in fact, doubled in just two months, climbing from 36% in February to 74% in April. Shipping and receiving costs have also risen sharply, reaching 45%, up from 26% in February.
Methodology
These results are based on 314 responses received from April 2 to 8 from a stratified random sample of CFIB members to a controlled-access web survey. Findings are statistically accurate to +/- 5.5 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. Accordingly, March results were recalculated to include 36 additional responses beyond the 651 originally used.
Measured on a scale between 0 and 100, an index above 50 means owners expecting their business’s performance to be stronger over the next three or 12 months outnumber those expecting weaker performance.
Since February 2026, the survey includes two new data points on shipping and receiving costs; and on shortages of equipment and technology. Provincial and sectoral details are not available yet.
As of April 2026, our industry codes align fully with NAICS, resulting in slight composition changes in agriculture, natural resources, transportation, and health and education. Questions? Contact us directly.
More details
Regional data about business optimism, price plans, limitations and cost constraints:
The Business Barometer, 2025 Retrospective.
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