‘Data for Business’ is an effort of the Langley Chamber, in partnership with the Canadian Chamber, to bring our member reports, stats, and analysis on economic and business data to help inform business and investment decisions. Read our latest update below:

The Canadian Survey on Business Conditions tallies the responses from over 15,000 companies each quarter and report on their key obstacles, expectations and outlook, and their view on emerging issues.  Just released, the 2024 Q3 Survey shows short-term business sentiment has declined, with weaker sales and employment dragging down the business outlook.  Business sentiment is weakest in BC than anywhere else in the country, particularly in the Vancouver-area.    Looking further out to the next 12 months, business optimism is higher, with businesses expecting a 'soft landing' for the economy and for employment to start growing modestly. 

Read the highlights below, and download the full report here > 

Sectoral and Size Outlook:
Only 4 of 16 sectors are improving with finance and insurance, and health care being most optimistic. Outlooks in the transportation, agriculture, and wholesale trade sectors are notably worsening.  Micro firms (1 to 4 employees) remain the least optimistic, but sentiment worsened for most business sizes except medium and large firms which remain stable. 

Business Obstacles:
Costs remain the most common issue for businesses, specifically general inflation, input costs, and interest/debt costs.  Recruiting follows those as a concern for 30% of responding businesses.   That said, cost and labour challenges are easing modestly. 

Prices:
With inflation within the Bank of Canada's 2-3% range for the first 7 months of the year, the is now a noticeable drop in the share of companies expecting to raise their prices in the next quarter, with 12% expecting to do so compared to 24% this time last year and 36% two years ago. 

CEBA:
Notably, business bankruptcies spiked in January, up 42% year over year, a significant impact from the federal government's decision not to extend the CEBA repayment deadline earlier this year despite warnings from the Langley Chamber and others on the negative effects of that decision. 

Labour Market:
The labour market is nearing the pre-pandemic balance of supply and demand, but labour challenges remain elevated for many businesses.  Accomodation, food services, manufacturing, retail and construction are the most impacted by labour obstacles, with about half of those firms expecting short-term labour challenges.   Arts, culture, real estate, transportation and warehousing were the sectors least likely to expect labour obstacles in the next 3 months. 

Supply Chain:
Canada's supply chains continue to be hit by labour disputes, including the rail shutdown of this summer and the port shutdown last year.  New data shows 2023 has the most days lost to labour disputes since 1986.  

Commentary and Analysis:
"Short-term business sentiment declined in Canada in the third quarter of 2024. The BDL’s Business Expectations Index registered a disappointing 98.4, down 3.4 points from last quarter, with weaker outlooks for sales and employment dragging down the headline number. 

The good news, however, is that with the economy still growing and the Bank of Canada increasingly winning the war against inflation, businesses expect a “soft landing” with employment growing over the next three months ─ albeit modestly. Equally important, this survey reveals new evidence that cost pressures are moderating, and firms’ pricing behaviour is normalizing. The central bank has been watching this closely. If these improvements continue, this trend could eventually hasten more aggressive interest rate cuts to support the weak economy....

Looking across the country, the outlook is definitely gloomy in Ontario and British Columbia ─ particularly their major cities of Toronto and Vancouver, where high housing prices and associated debt levels, along with impending mortgage renewals, are weighing heavily on consumer spending. Conversely, businesses are more optimistic in Quebec and Atlantic Canada, markets that haven’t suffered as much with housing affordability challenges."

- Stephen Tapp, Chief Economist, Canadian Chamber of Commerce