(Montreal) To highlight the importance of supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the country, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is launching SME Saturday, which aims to encourage buying local during the holiday shopping season.
In partnership with American Express, the CFIB wishes to encourage the population to consume more in local businesses during an event this Saturday which is added to the other days of bargains at the end of the year, such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
François Vincent, vice-president for Quebec at the CFIB, affirms that he has seen a “significant wave” of local purchases and an “enthusiastic participation” from the Quebec and Canadian population in the last two years.
“This initiative is just as important as it was during the pandemic. […] We saw that SMEs were doing badly because they were forced to close; now, it’s not because they are open that things are necessarily going well”, he attests.
Buying local is all the more crucial today, since SMEs are increasingly feeling the inflationary pressures and the lack of personnel caused by the shortage of labour. These “headwinds” sometimes lead them to have to close on certain days, underlines Mr. Vincent, which puts their sustainability at risk.
“Inflation is difficult for everyone; we already see in the polls that consumer spending will drop drastically. The consumer may therefore have the reflex to turn to supermarkets and online giants, and that’s what we want to avoid, ”says the vice-president.
Give back to your community
The economic contribution of SMEs is also “major and concrete”, says François Vincent, because they employ half of the workforce in the private sector in the country, according to Statistics Canada.
“In Canada, SMEs employ 10 million people, and in Quebec, it’s more than 2 million. On top of that, these merchants often consume products from businesses that are also local,” he adds.
According to a CFIB survey conducted in 2022 with more than 2,000 members, 69% of small merchants buy products and services from other local businesses. Encouraging local businesses also allows Canadians to “bring their community to fruition”, adds Mr. Vincent, since 2 out of 3 small merchants donate time and money to local charities, according to the same survey.
“SMBs can’t scale the way large corporations do, and that’s why every dollar invested counts. […] The holiday season is one of the most important times of the year, especially for the retail sector, and we really want to invite people to think about it and encourage them,” he concludes.
CFIB is the largest SME association in the country, with 95,000 members in all business sectors and all regions. It aims to increase the chances of success for SMEs by defending their interests with governments, as well as by providing them with personalized resources.