TORONTO — The Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) Canada, a group of 1,038 business leaders, who are the owner, founders or controlling shareholders of companies with revenues of least $1-10 million + a year, are weighing in on what’s currently keeping them up at night.
Asked a series of entrepreneur-specific questions, EO business leaders are sending a clear message that Canadians, governments and banks can do better to support homegrown businesses during the looming recession.
Key findings of the survey:
- Do the ‘wrong’ thing?
63 per cent of EO Entrepreneurs polled believe Canadians will not buy Canadian
during a recession. Only 10 per cent said they thought Canadians would buy Canadian
and 27 per cent optimistically said ‘maybe.’
“We’re clearly seeing that entrepreneurs are questioning if Canadians will actually buy Canadian during the expected recession,” said Dominique Laverdure, regional chair of EO Canada and president and founder of Rouge marketing. “On the one hand, Canadians are struggling with the very real cost of inflation, increasing food prices and interest rates, but if they don’t buy Canadian when we are all struggling, many Canadian businesses will suffer. This will inevitably lead to layoffs and even business closures, so we all need to keep a ‘we’re in it together' attitude through these difficult financial times.”
- Poilievre or no one!
Asked who their preferred leader would be during a recession, a decisive 68 per cent of EO Canada Entrepreneurs polled said Pierre Poilievre.
24 per cent said ‘none of the current federal leaders.'
Only seven per cent said Prime Minister Trudeau
one per cent said, Jagmeet Singh
Only nine per cent of entrepreneurs cite Trudeau as their preferred leader during the next phase of the COVID crisis.
27 per cent preferred ‘none of the current leaders.’
Not a glowing review
40 per cent of entrepreneurs said Trudeau did just ‘OK’ with support for SME’s during the pandemic
35 per cent said that he did ‘badly’
Only 21 per cent said he did ‘well’
- Banking on disappointment?
A whopping 74 per cent of EO Canada Entrepreneurs polled said that they think Major banks will not support businesses during a recession.
A surprising split
Entrepreneurs are surprisingly split on how well banks supported businesses during the COVID crisis. Forty-eight per cent said they did not support businesses compared to 50 per cent who say that they did.
- Moving on out?
Nearly a quarter (24 per cent) of entrepreneurs polled are considering moving out of Canada to rising interest rates.
53 per cent would consider relocating their business operations for significant tax rebates.
21 per cent would move their operations to Alberta vs. 15 per cent to BC and 7 per cent to Ontario.
- Best (delayed) plans
Asked ‘how a recession would impact their businesses,’ over a quarter of entrepreneurs polled (28 per cent) said it would ‘slow down expansion plans.’
Other Impacts of the recession on business:
A ‘major hit’ to profitability - 23 per cent
Worker layoffs – 17 per cent
Pausing of business plans – 5 per cent
- Winter (recession) is coming
28 per cent of EO Canada Entrepreneurs polled cite the ‘recession’ as their top current concern as a business owner.
59 per cent of entrepreneurs believe that we will be “in a true recession within the next 12 months”
Nearly a quarter (24 per cent) believe we are already in a recession.
Eight per cent optimistically say that ‘we are not in a recession.’
Ending on a high note
The majority of Entrepreneurs (68 per cent) say that they did not lose faith in doing business in Canada during the pandemic.
