BC – The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) has released new survey results that show a strong majority of BC’s entrepreneurs are concerned the election outcome will hurt their business, and are skeptical the parties will work together to support BC’s small businesses.
When business owners were asked: “Which of the following statements best describes your immediate reaction to the outcome of the 2017 BC election in terms of how it will affect your business?”:
- 66 per cent were pessimistic and worried the outcome will hurt their business, while just 4 per cent were optimistic.
- 21 per cent said they were unsure how the outcome would affect their business, and 9 per cent said they were indifferent about the results.
The reason behind this pessimism among small business owners appears to revolve around affordability and the potential new costs related to the party platforms. The survey results showed:
- 79 per cent of small businesses are worried their costs will increase as a result of the election.
- 75 per cent think the election results will inhibit business growth.
“The election outcome is clearly a concern to many of BC’s entrepreneurs. They are worried it will be all politics and no policy, which is bad news for business,” says Richard Truscott, Vice-President, BC and AB.
According to the survey, the vast majority of business owners do not believe the parties will cooperate to get things done. When business owners were asked to agree or disagree with the following statement, “I am confident the parties will work together on policies to support small business” 81 per cent disagreed while just 12 per cent agreed. 7 per cent were unsure.
“In this environment, it is critical for the parties to work together and send the province’s entrepreneurs a clear signal that their elected representatives plan to focus on creating policy that supports small business and mitigates any negative impact”, concludes Truscott.
The survey results are from CFIB’s Post-Election Survey based on 553 responses received between June 12 and 19, 2017.
