QUESTION PERIOD — Innovation, Science and Economic Development
Canadian Businesses
April 16, 2026
Canadians are losing faith, but I am going to another topic here, because this is also a big concern.
Data from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, or CFIB, shows that business closures have now outpaced new business starts for six consecutive quarters, reflecting a sustained decline in small business confidence. Business leaders consistently identify Canada’s regulatory burden as a key driver of rising costs, delayed investment and weakened competitiveness. Canada continues to rank poorly among advanced economies on regulatory efficiency.
Senator Moreau, after years of Liberal policies that have added layers of regulation and complexity, small businesses, the backbone of our economy, are struggling to survive. How does your government respond to the CFIB’s warning that Canada is now in an entrepreneurial drought?
We stand behind our entrepreneurs in Canada. If you don’t believe what the government is doing, let me tell you what the Economist Intelligence Unit thinks: Canada is the second-best country among the G20 for doing business. Let me tell you what the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor thinks: Canada ranks third with respect to the ease of starting a business.
I think that we’re doing great to support our businesses in Canada, and we will continue to do that.
Those statistics are very interesting because we’re hearing the opposite at our Banking Committee, and I’m telling you that, from the CFIB’s report, there is an issue of entrepreneurial drought. When will the government acknowledge this reality, agree that overregulation is a barrier to growth and bring forward concrete reforms to meaningfully reduce red tape? They are suffocating.
I previously answered Senator Hébert that, according to the Bank of Canada, Canadian businesses are already following what the government is arguing for by diversifying their markets.
Numerous efforts are undertaken by the government to help small businesses and all businesses in Canada to make sure that the economy grows and that we will be our own independent provider for all of the goods —
Thank you, Senator Moreau.
