Tariffs causing rising uncertainty in Canadian businesses: StatCan
Uncertainty in Canada’s business sector has risen in recent months due to both the threats and imposition of U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods , according to Statistics Canada’s quarterly survey on business conditions.
Business optimism is faltering , the report said.
The proportion of businesses that are either very optimistic or somewhat optimistic about their outlook over the next 12 months has dropped to 70 per cent, the first time it has fallen that low since the first quarter of last year.
The survey, conducted by Statistics Canada from April to early May, included the context of tariffs in its questions about the current operating environment for businesses and their expectations moving forward.
Just over one quarter of businesses expect to raise the prices of their goods and services over the next three months.
Statistics Canada also said businesses are anticipating obstacles, mainly related to costs and labour, in the same period.
High operational costs
was the primary factor limiting business growth for 26 per cent of
companies, while
15.5 per cent cited
workforce skill shortages
as the main limiting factor.
The survey looked at how the threat and imposition of tariffs would impact Canadian businesses. It said nearly one-fifth or 18.1 per cent of all companies anticipate that the U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods would have a high level of impact on their business, whether they are engaged in trade or not.
Businesses in transportation and warehousing were most likely to indicate a high level of impact, with 40.4 per cent saying so.
More than a quarter or 27.9 per cent of all businesses expect the U.S. tariffs will have no impact on their business, 17.5 per cent expect a low level of impact and 16.4 per cent expect a medium level of impact. Twenty per cent of businesses are unsure of the impact tariffs might have on them.
Nearly one fifth or 18.5 per cent of businesses anticipate that Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on imports from the United States would also have a high level of impact on their business, while nearly one quarter or 23.4 per cent expect no impact.
A high level of impact is anticipated by 37.1 per cent of businesses in wholesale trade, 32.4 per cent in manufacturing and 32.1 per cent in retail trade.
On the other hand, 21.3 per cent of businesses are unsure what impact retaliatory tariffs could have on their business.
• Email: dpaglinawan@postmedia.com
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