Most entrepreneurs in BC are worried about the impact the 2017 provincial election will have on their business.
Canadian Federation of Independent Business Alberta and BC Vice-President Richard Truscott says a recent survey painted a negative picture.
“66% of them were pessimistic about the outcome and thought it might hurt their business and that’s quite alarming, only 4% were optimistic about the future based on the election outcome and that’s very concerning.”
81% of small business owners are not confident the parties will work together on policies that support small business.
“Those numbers certainly paint an interesting picture of the the view of small business on the ability for politicians to get back and to work together to create a policy that supports and respect the small business sector,” says Truscott.
The CFIB says 79% of small businesses are also worried their costs will increase as a result of the election.
How would a minority government negatively affect a strong economy in BC?
“The outlook among entrepreneurs across the province has been generally positive but if they’re not going to see a stable political environment if we are going to be back into another election or if we are going to see him already governments struggle along or a bare majority struggle along in the next few months or maybe even a few next few years that is not good news for the economy that’s not good news for small business,“ says Truscott.
“What small business owners are looking for is some signal – a clear signal from their elected representatives that they plan to focus on creating policies that support small business in the short-term but also in the longer term.”
If a bare bones minority government or another election isn’t appealing to small business, what’s the best solution going forward?
“I truly think the solution is for the parties to actually find a way to cooperate to focus on creating good policy and to leave politics aside. We would like the politicians to be focused on policy and put all the politics aside for the short term anyway and try to find a way to move the province forward. If that’s not going to happen, then maybe we would be better off going back to the poles and getting something more stable.” says Truscott.
The survey election results from CFIB’s Post-Election Survey is based on 553 responses between June 12 and 19.
The BC Throne Speech is scheduled for Thursday.