The cost of government regulation on Canadian businesses

Regulation from all levels of government cost Canadian businesses $38.8 billion in 2020, with red tape accounting for $10.8 billion of that total. 

Those figures are both higher than CFIB’s last report on the cost of regulation, in 2017, which pegged the total cost at $36 billion, of which $10 billion was red tape. As in previous reports, small businesses with fewer than 5 employees) face the highest cost on a per employee basis – 5 times higher than larger businesses (with 100 employees or more).

You can find this year’s report at the right, and previous years’ files below. 

• 2021: Canada's Red Tape Report
• 2018: Research snapshot: The Cost of Government Regulation on Canadian Businesses
• 2015: Canada's Red Tape Report
• 2013: Canada's Red Tape Report