There’s a quiet resilience running through Canada’s small business community but it’s coming at a steep personal cost.
A recent survey by fintech platform Merchant Growth revealed a sobering reality: nearly 90 per cent of small business owner-operators in Canada have made personal sacrifices to keep their businesses alive amid the ripple effects of U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war and the lingering economic uncertainty it sparked.
For many entrepreneurs, the struggle is no longer about growth or innovation it’s about survival. Sixty-nine per cent of small business owners reported cutting or completely eliminating their own salaries in the past year just to stay afloat. More than half said they’ve postponed major life milestones, such as retirement or buying a home, and almost a quarter have been forced to sell personal assets to keep cash flowing.
Joe Cote, chief growth officer for Merchant Growth, put it plainly: “The sacrifices that small business owners need to make just to be able to continue on in this environment is mind-blowing.”
He’s right. Behind every “Open” sign in a local shop window is an owner quietly tightening their belt, pulling double shifts, and putting dreams on hold all for the sake of keeping their doors open.
Entrepreneurs like Elizabeth Mywaart, who co-owns Pendennis Weddings and Events in Edmonton, know this struggle intimately. She and her husband have already slashed their salaries once, and they’re preparing to do it again.
“We’re looking at January and even December,” she said, “and just seeing that there has been a slowdown in the market. Especially considering what last year looked like.”
It’s not just their business that’s affected it’s their clients, too. Weddings and events, once joyful and generous affairs, are now being scaled down. “Clients are telling us their budgets are smaller,” Mywaart added. “That comes up every time we sit down with someone.”
Much of this pressure traces back to shifting U.S. trade policies. One particularly damaging move was the end of de minimis exemptions, which previously allowed packages valued under $800 to cross into the U.S. duty-free. By scrapping that exemption, the Trump administration made it harder and more expensive for Canadian small businesses to trade across the border.
“That was such a key aspect for small businesses,” said Cote. “It was vital to their lifeblood.”
Despite the turmoil, there’s a glimmer of optimism in the form of a grassroots movement: “Buy Canadian.”
A recent Ipsos poll found that 56 per cent of Canadians have intentionally chosen domestic products or investments in response to U.S.-Canada trade tensions. Meanwhile, Merchant Growth’s consumer survey showed that 99 per cent of Canadians bought from a Canadian small business in the past year, with more than half saying they’re buying more local products than before.
It’s a hopeful sign proof that Canadians are willing to support their neighbours. But as Mywaart pointed out, even local buying isn’t always simple.
She shared how she had to remove California wines from her event menu at clients’ request only to discover it was easier to import wine from France or Italy than to get bottles from neighbouring British Columbia. “I can bring something from across the ocean and pay much less,” she said, frustrated by Canada’s interprovincial trade barriers.
It’s a bitter irony: while small businesses are being urged to rely less on the U.S., Canada’s own domestic trade hurdles make it harder for them to do so.
Small business owners have always been the beating heart of Canada’s economy adaptable, creative, and fiercely determined. But even the most resilient hearts can only take so much strain.
The numbers tell one story, but the faces behind them tell another one of personal sacrifice, sleepless nights, and relentless hope that things will get better.
If Canada truly values its small businesses, then buying local isn’t just a patriotic choice it’s an act of preservation. Because behind every local store, caterer, and event planner is a family giving up a little more than they can afford to keep their dream alive.
