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CFIB Counts 53,112 Canadian Businesses Directly Hit by Tariffs
CFIB's September 10 estimate puts 53,112 businesses in the direct path of U.S. tariffs and Canadian counter-tariffs, and argues federal supports still exclude about half of the small business community.
September 11, 2026 · 3 min read
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business says the trade war puts more than 50,000 Canadian small businesses at direct risk. CFIB estimates 53,112 of them are hit by U.S. tariffs, Canadian counter-tariffs, or both. The Toronto release is dated September 10, 2026. Owners in that group face one decision now: arrange working capital early, or after the damage reaches the statements.
CFIB argues federal tariff supports still exclude about half of the small business community. The 53,112 count is the association's own estimate, published as advocacy research rather than a government tally.
Who the count covers
CFIB counts 13,160 exporters and 45,414 importers, per the September 10 release. The two groups sum to more than 53,112, so some businesses sit in both counts. The release does not break out the overlap.
No sector or provincial breakdown is published.
The release quotes Corinne Pohlmann, CFIB's executive vice-president of advocacy: "We have been telling government that the counter-tariffs would have a far broader impact than the U.S. tariffs. Programs that only help a few thousand businesses are unacceptable when tens of thousands need support."
The three measures CFIB is asking for
First, a dedicated Small Business Tariff Relief program. CFIB asks that it pay impacted exporters and importers up to $70,000 in initial relief. Eligibility would turn on evidence the business paid the tariff or absorbed it in prices.
Second, an SME Desk for Tariff Remissions. It would speed decisions on removing Canadian retaliatory tariffs.
Third, tax. CFIB wants the small business corporate tax rate cut from 9 percent to 6 percent, retroactive to January 1, 2026. It also wants the small business deduction threshold raised from $500,000 to $700,000 with indexation.
None of the three is in force.
What the tariff program pays today
The release points at the Regional Tariff Response Initiative. Pohlmann says those programs "reduced their access thresholds down to $1 million, but it doesn't go far enough." FedDev Ontario delivers it in southern Ontario, where the expanded intake opened September 8.
FedDev's own bar runs to four tests. The business must be incorporated, for-profit, operating in southern Ontario, and viable before the tariffs, with at least $1 million in revenue in one of the last two fiscal years. The fourth test is demonstrated tariff exposure.
Liquidity assistance runs up to $2 million, non-repayable, per FedDev Ontario's application guide. The guide sets it mainly at 50 percent of average eligible monthly payroll, for up to 12 months ending no later than March 31, 2028.
Pivot project support is separate. FedDev Ontario's guide puts it at up to $1 million non-repayable, at up to 50 percent of eligible costs.
FedDev Ontario caps combined non-repayable funding at $3 million per business.
PFG’s View
The advocacy does not change what an owner can do this month. What changes is the file a lender reads.
A working capital facility is easier to arrange while the statements still read healthy.
Lenders price the file in front of them. A file with two clean quarters behind it reads differently than one filed six months into a margin slide.
The RTRI money is a non-repayable contribution, and it moves on the government's clock. Know what actually counts as a grant here before you plan around one. Run the federal file and the credit file in parallel.
On the credit side, the CSBFP line of credit class is authorized to $150,000 for working capital, per the program guidelines. That is small next to a $2 million liquidity request. Underwriting looks at your own numbers. Our read on who actually takes CSBFP loans found nearly three-quarters of fiscal 2024-25 approvals went to businesses under twelve months old.
Two things worth doing before month end. Check the $1 million revenue floor against your last two fiscal years. Then put payroll records and a cash flow forecast in one folder, because both the federal application and the lender ask for them.
Stay ahead of market moves.
Market conditions change what is possible. Know what changed first, and what to do about it.