New survey finds a number of Canadian small businesses hiring, making money in 2024
A new survey done by Canadian insurance company Zensurance found that more than half of the 1,000 small business owners, entrepreneurs and self-employed Canadians it polled reported making more money so far in 2024 than in the first half of 2023.
"60 per cent saying their revenues have improved over the last twelve months, and 20 per cent of that saying they've reached new records, 70 per cent are really confident about the future, and a third are planning to hire in the next six months,” said Danish Yusuf, Zensurance’s founder and CEO.
Some Maritime small businesses seem to fit the bill for the trends the survey describes.
Mike Wadden's physiotherapy clinic on Membertou First Nation in Cape Breton has been open for less than 10 months, but has already built a pretty good clientele.
"We opened our doors in October of last year, and we've had a lot of support from the community,” Wadden said.
Right now, Wadden is hiring - and he's heard from a number of other small business owners in the Sydney area who are doing the same.
"I mean, for a long time people were moving away,” Wadden said. “We have more people coming back now, more businesses are opening. I think there's more competition too."
However, a senior policy analyst in Nova Scotia for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business said the survey results don’t reflect what he has heard.
"We do have some different data, from our members directly, particularly when we look at revenue,” said Duncan Robertson. "So, when we look at our domestic demand we're hearing that is an issue for a lot of our members."
Robertson says local small and medium enterprises have also been dealing with higher costs.
"Particularly the cost of doing business, which we have heard has been on the rise,” he said. “Taxes, fuel, insurance costs, wages as well."
Meanwhile, there were other positive predictions from the Zensurance study.
Nearly 24 per cent of those polled said they are opening a second workplace or office and more than 30 per cent plan to introduce a new service or sell new products.
"I think it paints a good picture,” Yusuf said. “But there are those clouds on the surface as well around inflation and certain hiring challenges - so I'd say I'd be cautiously optimistic based on these results."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.7033216.1726021317!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
Kamala Harris goes on offence against Donald Trump in combative debate
Democratic U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris put Republican Donald Trump on the defensive at a combative U.S. presidential debate on Tuesday with a stream of attacks on abortion limits, his fitness for office and his myriad legal woes.
Key quotes from the Trump-Harris 2024 U.S. presidential debate
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris and former U.S. president Donald Trump took the stage on Tuesday night for their first and only scheduled presidential debate before the Nov. 5 election.
FACT CHECK: A look at the false and misleading claims made during the Trump-Harris debate
In their first and perhaps only debate, former U.S. president Donald Trump and U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris described the state of the country in starkly different terms. As the two traded jabs, some old false and misleading claims emerged along with some new ones.
Trump campaign falsely accuses immigrants in Ohio of abducting and eating pets
Former U.S. president Donald Trump’s campaign and his allies are amplifying false rumours that Haitian immigrants in Ohio were abducting and eating pets, another instance of the inflammatory and anti-immigrant rhetoric Trump has promoted throughout his campaigns.
U.S. presidential historian predicts results of November elections. Here's who he says will win
An American presidential historian is predicting a Kamala Harris presidency as the outcome of the upcoming U.S. elections in November.
Taylor Swift endorses Kamala Harris for U.S. president after debate ends
Taylor Swift, one of the music industry's biggest stars, endorsed Kamala Harris for president shortly after the debate ended on Tuesday night.
Some restaurants have increased their default tip options. Canadians think you should give this much
Despite what the default options on the payment terminal might read, most Canadians still want to tip around 15 per cent, according to a new survey.
Dave Grohl says he fathered a child outside of his marriage
The Foo Fighters frontman announced that he recently became a father again, writing in a statement on his Instagram page on Tuesday that his new baby girl was born 'outside' of his marriage to his wife Jordyn Blum.
$2M home belonging to children's musician Raffi on the market
Canada’s children’s troubadour is selling his B.C. home, which is now up for grabs for $1,995,000.