SURVEY: FAKETRIOTISM FOOLERY IS FORSAKING CANADIAN SMALL BUSINESSES!
RADICALLY RISING COSTS, CASH FLOW CRUNCHES AND TURBULENT TARIFFS AREN'T HELPING EITHER
TORONTO, March 30, 2026 /CNW/ - Between tariffs, recession fears, rising costs, and many other daily hardships, it's hard out there for Canadian small businesses. One bright ember of hope for many Canadian SMBs has been the Buy Canadian movement, but a brand-new survey by Ignite Digital of 600 Canadian small business owners is flagging that perceived patriotic purchasing may be pushed aside in the search for savings.
Proper attribution matters! Please refer to this as a survey by Ignite Digital in ANY media mentions.
Key Findings of the survey:
Nationally, asked if they think Canadians are 'Faketriotic' about publicly supporting the Buy Canadian movement but are privately shopping with American companies to save money, a definitive (combined) 79.4% of Canadian small business owners say 'Yes' (30.3%), 'Kinda' (34.3%) or 'Maybe' (14.8%).
Provincially, 50% of small business owners in Newfoundland and Labrador flagged Faketriotics, followed by Quebec (33.3%), Ontario (31.8%), BC (29.5%), New Brunswick (27.3%), Manitoba (26.9%), and Alberta (26.0%).
Faketriotic folly is costing Canadian SMBs real money:
Nationally asked how much 'Faketriotism' is costing their SMB's, 12.0% of Canadian small business owners say 'too much,' 9.8% say 'a lot,' and 57.3% admit it's costing them 'a little'.
Provincially, 'Faketriotism folly' is costing Newfoundland and Labrador small business owners the most, with 25.0% admitting it's costing them 'too much', followed by Quebec (20.5%), Alberta (15.1%), Manitoba (11.5%), Ontario (10.6%), New Brunswick (9.1%), BC (8.2%) and Nova Scotia (6.7%).
Also of note, 50% of PEI small business owners reported that Faketriotism is costing them 'a lot,' followed by Manitoba (15.4%), Ontario (12.2%), New Brunswick (9.1%) and Alberta (8.2%).
SMBs are split about secret self-sabotage:
Nationally, when asked whether they think Canadian SMBs are 'Faketriotic' about publicly supporting the Buy Canadian movement but privately working with American companies to save money, Canadian small business owners were divided: 29.8% said 'yes,' 26.3% said 'kinda,' and 25.5% said 'no'.
Canadian SMBs see Ontario as the Faketriotic front line:
Asked what they think the most 'Faketriotic' province in Canada is, 60.8% of small business owners said Ontario, distantly followed by British Columbia (15.3%), Quebec (11.3%), Saskatchewan (4.17%) and Manitoba (3.33%) Interestingly, the Atlantic provinces were seen as the least Faketriotic by small business owners with Nova Scotia, Price Edward Island and New Brunswick all tied at 1.7% and Newfoundland and Labrador at 1.50%.
"We need to be brutally honest about the extreme and unforeseen challenges that Canadian SMBs are struggling through in 2026 and find real ways to support them before it's too late," said Matthew Goulart, founder of Ignite Digital. "In the name of Canadian SMBs we designed this survey to get real about how much Canadians may (or may not be) supporting SMBs, and the very serious economic issues that they are battling every day."
Nationally, Canadian SMB owners say their biggest business beefs are currently:
Rising costs like (rent, inputs and shipping) (63.67%)
Cash flow week-to-week (38.33%)
Tariffs - (USA actions) (37.67%)
Taxes/compliance burdens (31.17%)
Customer demand falling (26.33%)
Getting paid late/bad clients (26.00%)
Finding/keeping staff (24.33%)
NOT made in the USA …
Nationally, finding non-USA suppliers has cost Canadian small business owners serious money this year! A combined 60.17% of SMBs report that it costs them significant money (34.67%), or 'kinda' costs them significant money (24.89%).
The customer (isn't) always right …
Nationally, which client behavior is the most damaging to their businesses? Canadian SMB owners said: Late payments (43.17%), unrealistic timelines (36.83%), abuse/harassment of staff (32.00%), chargebacks/disputes (31.17%), and slow decision making (27.00%).
Canadian SMBs are fighting for their lives:
Nationally, when asked how many months they could survive 'if business dropped by 25% tomorrow,' nearly a third of Canadian small business owners soberly said 3-5 months (30.17%), 21.00% said 6-11 months. 11.17% admitted that 'they can't even think about it!' and 6.5% sadly said 'less than one month.'
Regrets … They've had a few:
Bluntly asked if they regretted starting/buying their business, a combined 45.84% of national Canadian SMB owners said yes, with 38.17% saying 'sometimes,' 5.17% saying 'often,' and 2.5% saying 'constantly.'"
Crisis of confidence:
Nationally, asked if they 'believe their business will survive long enough to sell so they can retire,' a combined (73.17%) Canadian SMBs showed a clear crisis of confidence with 21.50% saying 'no,' 20.00% saying 'kinda,' 16.00% saying 'I have no idea,' and 15.67% saying 'I really hope so.'
Additional information on the survey is HERE
About Ignite Digital
Established in 2008, Ignite Digital is a premier Digital Marketing company dedicated to driving growth through data-driven strategies. Ignite Digital helps clients across various industries achieve sustainable online growth through full-service strategies, including SEO, Paid Search, Website Development, and AI SEO Optimization.
Contact:
Patrick McCaully
Pointman News Creation
[email protected]
pointmannc.com
SOURCE Ignite Digital
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