While chain stores dominate in Canada, Canadians are supportive of small businesses. Three-fifths of Canadians said they are open to paying more for items and services to support a local business, according to a poll conducted by North American wage provider Wagepoint. “We found an interesting juxtaposition with our survey — the majority of Canadians truly wanted to support SME (small- and medium-sized enterprises) grocery stores and other businesses in spite of rising food costs, but many said that they didn’t have a SME grocery store option and many also said they simply weren’t aware of any SME grocery stores in their area,” said Wagepoint CEO Shrad Rao in a press release. “So perhaps it’s a combination of lack of choice and lack of funds to spend on marketing that are keeping SME grocery stores from thriving.”Wagepoint found 78.3% of Canadians wish they could do all or some of their shopping at a small business. It said 13% admit they cannot afford to spend more at small businesses right now. Additionally, 64.8% said perceived higher prices keep them from supporting small businesses. When it comes to supporting small businesses, it said 40.1% go to them weekly, 31.2% monthly, and 6.5% daily. It added 63.6% do not think Canadians are doing enough to support small businesses post-COVID-19. Several SME grocery stores across Canada were named as the most loved and trusted. Canada’s most loved SME grocery stores were Gateway Meat Market in Dartmouth, NS; Ferraro Foods in Trail, BC; Foody Mart in Toronto and Markham, ON; Langley Food Market in Vancouver; and London Road Market in Lethbridge, AB. Its most trusted ones were these five and Commisso’s Fresh Foods in Niagara Falls, ON. While the Canadian government has tried to support small businesses post-COVID-19, 63.6% said they believe it has not done enough. A Canadian government review released in March shows small business loan defaults doubled during lockdowns. READ MORE: Pandemic lockdowns doubled small business loan defaultsKnown loan defaults totaled $87 million in 2021 — double the $44.2 million in 2019 — with a total of $220.9 million during 2020 to 2022. The Canadian government forecasted the losses on these loans under the Canada Small Business Financing Act are expected to worsen due to “a certain time lag.”The poll was conducted using an unknown method with 1,000 Canadian adults during unknown dates. No margin of error was assigned to it.
