Canadian biz owners optimistic

Small business confidence increased in July, according to the CFIB.

Its business barometer surged five points, moving up to 64.2 and regaining the ground lost in the past four months.

“Canada’s small and mid-size business owners are considerably more optimistic than they were just a month ago, and the current index reading is the best since February,” says Ted Mallett, CFIB’s vice-president and chief economist.

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He adds, “Most of this turnaround is the result of much better numbers out of Ontario. Interestingly, the recent floods didn’t have a significant net impact on Alberta’s numbers, which would suggest the province is already getting back on track.”

Entrepreneurs in Saskatchewan (71.2) are the most optimistic in Canada. But post-flood Alberta (66.8), along with Newfoundland and Labrador (66.7) and Ontario (66.5) are close behind.

B.C. (64.9) is above the national average, while New Brunswick (58.9), Manitoba (58.0), Nova Scotia (57.0) and Quebec (56.4) are all below. P.E.I (49.2) remains at the bottom of the scale.

“We see steady or improving business confidence in most sectors, particularly construction and manufacturing, with retail the only sector notably on the downside,” says Mallett.

Also, “a number of factors, including changes in pricing and hiring plans, new orders, capital spending, customer demand, and labour availability suggest an improvement in business performance, which is good news for the Canadian economy.”

Read: Small biz employees overspending

Measured on a scale of 0 and 100, an index level above 50 means owners expect their businesses performance will be stronger in the next year. Levels normally range between 65 and 70 when the economy is growing at its potential.

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The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.