Canadian small businesses report card
By CO Staff @canadaone | October 20, 2009
Ninety eight per cent of small business owners gave their companies a passing grade in a recent TD Canada Trust Small Business Survey, which asked 1002 small business owners with fewer than 20 employees to score their performance during the past year.
According to Christine Morris, vice president with TD Business Banking, the positive results are a strong indication that Canada's economic recovery is underway.
Morris anticipates that the recovery will have a positive impact on small businesses, especially in sectors like manufacturing.
"In addition to the good grades given out, there is a high level of optimism among small business owners for 2010, suggesting that business optimism is likely to continue to improve," Morris said.
National rankings
| Score | % | Interpretting the score | ||
| A+ | 6% | We've had our best year yet | ||
| A | 13% | We experienced solid growth and generated rev ahead of projections | ||
| B | 44% | We did about what we expected to | ||
| C | 21% | We did not have the year we planned on and need to better in 2010 | ||
| D | 13% | This was a rough year | ||
| F | 2% | We are in serious trouble |
Regional differences
The survey found some interesting regional differences in how businesses scored their performance.
- Businesses in Quebec were most likely to give their business an A+ (11 per cent) while businesses in BC were the least likely (3 per cent).
- Businesses in Manitoba and Saskatchewan were more likely to give their business an A (24 per cent) compared to the national average (13 per cent).
- Businesses in Ontario were more likely to give themselves a failing grade (4 per cent) compared to other provinces.
"With the improving economy and strong Canadian dollar forecasted for 2010, it will be interesting to see how these rankings improve a year from now," says Morris.
If you enjoyed this article, be sure to visit CanadaOne's article knowledge base for more informative articles.
