December 2022 Business Barometer - Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB)

Canada's small business long term confidence has seen a small uptick in December, while the short term has further declined.

CFIB’s Business Barometer® short-term index, which is based on 3-month forward expectations for business performance, dropped more than three points to 40.2. The long-term optimism index, based on a 12-month outlook, reached 50.9, a mere 0.9 higher than in November. An index below 50 shows that there are fewer business owners feeling confident than feeling negatively about the next months.

Provincial Outlook

The provincial outlook over the short term is on a downwards slope. As in previous months, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador are leading the country, but with low confidence levels nonetheless of 50.7 and 50.0.  The remaining provinces are registering levels between 46.0 to 36.7. PEI and NB are the least optimistic provinces over the next 3 months, both with levels below 40.

Long-term outlook is somewhat more optimistic with Manitoba, Saskatchewan and PEI leading with indices of 59.6, 59.3 and 58.1 respectively.  

This is an excerpt from the CFIB’s report.