The document summarizes information from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) about small businesses in Canada and Ontario. The CFIB represents over 109,000 small and medium businesses across Canada. It discusses key topics such as the importance of small businesses to employment, challenges with taxes and regulations, difficulties finding qualified employees, and the costs associated with accepting credit cards. The CFIB provides resources and support to address these issues for its members.

1. www.cfib.ca
How Big is Small Business?
Top 5 Things Entrepreneurs Need to Know
MantraVision 2015
Plamen Petkov, Vice-President, Ontario & Business Resources
October 21, 2015

2. www.cfib.ca
Canadian Federation of Independent
Business (CFIB)
 CFIB is a not-for-profit, non-partisan organization representing over
109,000 small and medium-size businesses across Canada, including
42,000 businesses across all sectors in Ontario.
 Each week, our representatives make nearly 2,000 personal visits to
member businesses across Canada, allowing us to speak credibly on
behalf of our members.
 CFIB members set association policy through Mandate votes with
“one member, one vote rule” – research capacity is second to none.
 CFIB is 100% funded by members.
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CFIB’s Ontario Member Profile
Our diverse membership of 42,000 businesses is a good
reflection of the Ontario economy
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Professional services
7%
Hospitality
6%
Agriculture
5%
Finance, Insr, Real
Estate
5%
Enterprises & admin
mgmt
4%
Social services
4%
Other
4%
Transportation
3%
Retail
21%
Construction
13%
Manufacturing
11%
Personal, Misc.
services
10%
Wholesale
7%

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Small business employment
SMEs employ 89 per cent of all private sector employees
Source: Industry Canada, Key Small Business Statistics, August 2013
Small (1-99)
67%
Medium (100-
499)
22%
Large (500 +)
11%
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Small business employment
94% of Ontario Businesses have fewer than 20 Employees
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1-4 employees
23.5%
5-19 employees
13.6% 20-49 employees
3.4%
50-499 employees
2.1%
500+ employees
0.1%
Businesses with no
employees
57%
Source: Industry Canada, Key Small Business Statistics, August 2013

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Respect for small business
How much respect do you have for each of the following in
Canada? (Average level of respect, scale 0 to 10)
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5.1
5.3
5.6
5.6
5.9
7.0
7.0
8.2
8.7
Labour unions
Government
Banks
Large companies
Legal system/Courts
Healthcare system
Education system/Schools
Small business
Farmers
Source: CFIB, Perspectives on small business in Canada, July 2011

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Entrepreneurship as a career choice
Running a business has been a rewarding career choice
(% response)
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Source: CFIB, Point of View survey on CFIB’s 40th Anniversary, based on 3,594 responses
Agree, 92
Disagree, 7
Don't know, 1

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Reasons to go into business
Why did you become a business owner? (% response)
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Source: CFIB, Point of View survey on CFIB’s 40th Anniversary, based on 3,594 responses
5
13
20
20
24
42
45
66
Other
Other suitable job opportunities were not
available at the time
To continue the family business
Had a great idea for a business that I wanted
to pursue
To have a more flexible schedule
To make better use of my skills and
knowledge
Financial opportunity
To be my own boss and make my own
decisions

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The things nobody tells entrepreneurs
1. Good help is TRULY hard to find
2. Taxes and more taxes
3. The cost of getting paid
4. Death by 1000 paper cuts
5. Being part of a biz group
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1. Help Wanted
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Secrets of success
During the past three years, which of the following elements
have been important to the success of your business?
(% response)
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Source: CFIB, Point of View survey on CFIB’s 40th Anniversary, based on 3,594 responses
5
10
16
18
31
54
60
61
63
Don't know
Defined business plans
Family support
Innovation
Passion for what I do
Product(s)/Service(s)
Customer loyalty
Hard work
Employees

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Contribution to communities
As a business owner, how have you contributed to your
community? (% response)
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Source: CFIB, Point of View survey on CFIB’s 40th Anniversary, based on 3,594 responses
1
5
23
47
47
59
72
74
85
No involvement
Other
Donating employees’ time
Donating my time
Promoting local charities
Sponsoring sports teams
Donating goods or services
Financial donations
Employing locals

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Shortage of Labour
“During the past three years, have you had difficulty hiring new
employees?”
Source: CFIB, Small Business and Labour Survey , 2015, n=8824;
13
Yes, it was
very difficult,
27
Yes, it was
somewhat
difficult, 40
No, I had no
difficulty hiring
for the
available
positions, 20
No, I wasn’t
looking to
hire, 13

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What types of positions are you having
difficulty filling?
14
8
21
33
40
54
Jobs that require university education
Jobs that require no formal or specific
training
Jobs that require a college diploma or
apprenticeship training
Jobs that require a high school diploma or
occupation-specific training
Jobs that require on-the-job training
Source: CFIB, Training in Your Business survey, 2014, n=6705;

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2. Taxes and
more taxes
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Selection of the taxes Ontario SMEs might pay
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Premiums and Payroll Tax
• Workers’ Compensation
• EI, CPP and Proposed ORPP
premiums
• Employer Health Tax
Sales and Excise Tax
• HST
• Fuel and gasoline taxes
• Insurance taxes
• Tobacco taxes
• Liquor mark-ups
Corporate Income Tax
• Small business corporate tax rate
• General corporate income tax rate
• Manufacturing and Processing rate
Property Tax
• Property tax rates
• Land Transfer tax
• Estate Administration Tax
Personal Income Tax Rates
College of Trades fees
Environmental Stewardship Fees
In Ontario, the average
commercial property tax
is 2-3 times higher than
what residents pay!

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Which forms of taxes affect the growth of your
business the most?
63
54
47
43
42
3
Payroll Taxes (e.g. EI, CPP, WCB,
etc.)
Corporate Income Taxes
Property / Capital Taxes
Personal Income Taxes
Sales Taxes (e.g. GST/HST, PST)
Don't know
Source: CFIB, 2014 Pre-budget survey, 8000 responses, Fall 2014
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3. Credit Cards...aka “how much you
have to pay to get paid?”
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Credit cards – how much does your
card cost?
 Some credit cards cost small businesses 1.7%-2%
of the transaction cost.
 Others.... 2%....3%...4%...
• And the merchants don’t know how much each
transaction will cost them!
 And that’s only the beginning...
 Restrictive contracts
 Deceptive sales tactics
 No dispute resolution process for merchants
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20. www.cfib.ca
Credit Card Code of Conduct – The
changes
 Requires processors to pass along Visa/MC reductions
announced in November 2014
 Cuts are between 6-22% depending on the card type
 Merchants will be able to opt out if savings aren’t passed on
 Limits auto-renewals to a maximum of 6 months
 Applies to mobile payments, reducing opportunity for fee
grabs
 Improved dispute resolution process
 Credit card issuers will have to inform consumers that
using premium cards may mean higher fees

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Educating the public

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SMALL
BUSINESS
OWNER
PST
collections
WCB
Business
registration
Property
tax
Signage
by-laws
Permits &
licenses
Land use
by-laws
OHS
Environment
regulations
Labour
code
EI Privacy ROE Food
labelling
Health
inspections
4. The regulatory environment
CPP
StatsCan
surveys
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Red Tape
“Your not-so-silent partner”
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If I had known the burden of regulation, I may
not have gone into business (% response)
Source: CFIB, Survey on Regulation and Paper Burden, 2014, n=7304
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Not
applicable/
Don't know,
19
Disagree, 48
Agree, 33

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Red Tape
Most Burdensome Provincial Regulations (% response)
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Source: CFIB, Canada’s Red Tape Report, 2015
3
4
4
9
9
15
15
22
27
29
55
60
73
Liquor and tobacco
Food and restaurant inspections
Other
Consumer protection
Selling to government
Environment (agriculture, energy, waste and recycling)
Health permits and inspections
Other tax compliance
Financial, insurance and banking
Business registration, reporting requirements
Employment standards
HST
Workers’ compensation and occupational health and safety

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5. Part of a Biz Group: Exclusive Support
Call CFIB Business Resources Counsellors at:
1-888-234-2232
Members receive bilingual advice in resolving
business issues and getting support in dealing
with all government departments.
No charge for CFIB members!
Call as often as you like!

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Shop Small Biz is an initiative designed to
empower small business owners and to educate
consumers about the important role that small
businesses play in our lives.
Sign up for free at www.shopsmallbiz.ca

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 Google Ignite - complimentary networking event
with CFIB and Google Canada on October 28th
in Toronto
 Help your business succeed online; one-on-one
workshops with Google’s Certified Partners.
 Great prizes to be won, including Nexus tablets
and more!
 Register at ignitecanada.com. Space is limited.
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www.cfib.ca
Thank you
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