Canada's CFIB Business Barometer long-term index, which tracks 12-month forward expectations for business performance, fell sharply to 46.3 in May 2026 from a downwardly revised 58.0 in April, marking the lowest reading in a year. The short-term optimism index, based on the 3-month outlook, also declined by roughly 7 points to 47.9, reflecting weaker sentiment. The decline in long-term expectations was broad-based across sectors, with some of the steepest drops recorded in retail (53.4 vs. 63.5), health and education (51.7 vs. 61.5), hospitality (47.3 vs. 57.1), and agriculture (44.6 vs. 53.3). Meanwhile, the average price increase eased to 3.1% from 3.2% in March, although remaining elevated, while the average wage growth remained unchanged at 2.4%. Full-time hiring intentions remain weak, with more firms planning to cut staff (16%) than expand their workforce (14%). source: CFIB - Canadian Federation of Independent Business

Small Business Sentiment in Canada decreased to 46.30 points in May from 58.50 points in April of 2026. Small Business Sentiment in Canada averaged 60.00 points from 2000 until 2026, reaching an all time high of 74.10 points in April of 2002 and a record low of 25.50 points in March of 2025. This page provides - Canada CFIB Business Barometer Index- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news. Canada CFIB Business Barometer - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on May of 2026.

Small Business Sentiment in Canada decreased to 46.30 points in May from 58.50 points in April of 2026. Small Business Sentiment in Canada is expected to be 56.50 points by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. In the long-term, the Canada CFIB Business Barometer is projected to trend around 60.00 points in 2027 and 55.00 points in 2028, according to our econometric models.



Calendar GMT Reference Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2026-04-17 11:00 AM
CFIB Business Barometer
Apr 58.5 55.7 54
2026-05-22 11:00 AM
CFIB Business Barometer
May 46.3 58 57.4
2026-06-19 11:00 AM
CFIB Business Barometer
Jun 46.3 56.5


Related Last Previous Unit Reference
Consumer Confidence 45.60 49.20 points May 2026
Manufacturing Sales MoM 4.60 3.00 percent Apr 2026
CFIB Business Barometer 46.30 58.50 points May 2026
Wholesale Sales MoM 0.10 1.90 percent Apr 2026


Canada CFIB Business Barometer
CFIB’s Business Barometer tracks small business confidence, expectations and operating conditions in Canada. It was revised as of the May 2009 issue. It is based on the same survey question on 12-month future business performance expectations collected annually 1987-2000, quarterly 2001-2008 and monthly since late 2008. The index is a weighted average of response scores: 100 for stronger performance, 50 for same performance, and 0 for weaker performance. The data are not seasonally adjusted.
Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
46.30 58.50 74.10 25.50 2000 - 2026 points Monthly
NSA

News Stream
Canada Small Business Confidence at 1-Year Low
Canada's CFIB Business Barometer long-term index, which tracks 12-month forward expectations for business performance, fell sharply to 46.3 in May 2026 from a downwardly revised 58.0 in April, marking the lowest reading in a year. The short-term optimism index, based on the 3-month outlook, also declined by roughly 7 points to 47.9, reflecting weaker sentiment. The decline in long-term expectations was broad-based across sectors, with some of the steepest drops recorded in retail (53.4 vs. 63.5), health and education (51.7 vs. 61.5), hospitality (47.3 vs. 57.1), and agriculture (44.6 vs. 53.3). Meanwhile, the average price increase eased to 3.1% from 3.2% in March, although remaining elevated, while the average wage growth remained unchanged at 2.4%. Full-time hiring intentions remain weak, with more firms planning to cut staff (16%) than expand their workforce (14%).
2026-05-22
Canada Small Business Confidence Rebounds
Canada's CFIB Business Barometer long-term index, which tracks 12-month forward expectations for business performance, increased to 58.5 in April 2026, after falling sharply to a downwardly revised 55.7 in March. The short-term optimism index, based on the 3-month outlook, also posted a modest gain, rising by about 1 point to 55.4. Expectations for the next 12 months increased mostly in retail (63.7 vs 62.7), info, arts and recreation (57.8 vs 55.7), personal services (61.4 vs 60.3) and construction (57.3 vs 50). In contrast, a decline was seen mostly in transportation and warehousing (52.9 vs 53.8), professional and business services (57.4 vs 59.6) and hospitality (57.1 vs 58.2). Meanwhile, the average price increase jumped up to 3.2% in April, marking the highest monthly change since the tariff war last March. The average wage increase increased slightly to 2.4%, the first notable shift after roughly 12 months of readings clustered around the 2.2% mark.
2026-04-17
Canada Small Business Confidence Plunges in March
Canada's CFIB Business Barometer long-term index, which tracks 12-month forward expectations for business performance, sank to 55.8 in March of 2026 from the over three-year high of 65.3 in the previous month. The sharp decline reflected the immediate impact of higher energy prices and inflation expectations following the outbreak of war in the Middle East, which halted energy exports from the region. Consequently, the business barometer plunged for transportation and housing (-7.6 to 53.8) due to higher fuel costs and agriculture (-4.6 to 54.6) as the jump in natural gas and helium costs risked the supply for fertilizers. In the meantime, lower confidence was also noted for professional services (-4.1 to 59.4) and construction (-1.9 t 57.3).
2026-03-24