Canadian businesses are absorbing the costs of tariffs, survey reveals
Most small businesses are shouldering the costs of US tariffs themselves, but support is needed from Ottawa as the August 1 deal deadline approaches.
New stats from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) reveal that almost 70% of small firms importing from the US say they’ve paid the full Canadian tariff out of pocket, with the median cost around $9,000. On the export side, 63% say they’ve either absorbed the US tariffs entirely or split the cost with their American customers, with a median hit of $25,000.
CFIB is pressing Ottawa to return the billions of dollars in revenue from Canada’s retaliatory tariffs to help struggling small businesses and to do so immediately if there is no deal by Friday.
"If no deal is reached by Friday, Canada must immediately return the revenue collected from our counter tariffs to small businesses to help them weather the ongoing harm and massive economic uncertainty," says CFIB president Dan Kelly. "Many have been holding out, delaying critical decisions hoping for enough certainty to plan for the future. Without an immediate deal, many are facing some terrible choices, including laying off key workers."
To soften the blow, CFIB has proposed several relief options:
- a direct rebate for affected businesses
- a temporary cut to the small business tax rate from 9% to 0%,
- or reduced Employment Insurance premiums.
The organization has also submitted a petition — already backed by 10,000 business owners — calling on the government to finally lower the broader costs of doing business.
"So far, the federal government's announced support measures and tariff exemptions have fallen short of bringing desperately needed cost relief," says Corinne Pohlmann, executive vice-president of Advocacy at CFIB. "We also hope that the government will take a careful look at its counter-tariff plans when negotiations conclude. Although small businesses have been supportive of Canada's counter-tariffs while discussions are under way, ongoing tariffs would have permanent consequences on small businesses and the broader Canadian economy."
