CFIB Alberta

Small business owners are looking for tax reductions and tariff relief, and the budget provides neither. I find it appalling that, a year and a half into the trade war, the government hasn’t even bothered to fix the failing tariff relief measures. The budget speech says government will be at the side of Canadian businesses for as long as it takes. Sadly, this remains untrue as small firms with less than $1 million in sales do not qualify for any of the existing tariff support programs, despite Canada having collected more than $14 billion in counter-tariff revenue.

While there is a reannounced Mega Deduction and a focus on mega projects, small business owners will find the 2026 budget mega disappointing. If you are a small business owner struggling to keep your business going in the face of rapidly rising costs and a trade war, the budget will provide you with no help whatsoever.

It is great to see a new federal red tape reduction strategy which includes several long-standing CFIB recommendations.  The new requirement for regulators to reduce regulatory burden costs by $2 for every $1 added is a significant step forward. CFIB statement on federal Cabinet Directive on Regulatory Competitiveness and Red Tape Reduction cfib-fcei.ca/en/media/cfib-s…

Visa lowers interchange fees for tens of thousands of small businesses, but new credit card fees are on the horizon cfib-fcei.ca/en/media/visa-l…

My ipolitics column on proposed changes to the federal labour code: Small businesses shouldn’t be bargaining chips in federal labour disputes  ipolitics.ca/2026/09/30/smal…

CFIB looks forward to reviewing the full detail of proposed changes to the Canada Labour Code in the days ahead. It does appear that government is moving in the right direction by putting enhanced tools in place to help resolve disputes that put the larger economy in jeopardy. Work stoppages in federally regulated workplaces (such as ports, railways, airlines and Canada Post) do not just affect this handful of large employers and their workers. Hundreds of thousands of small businesses and millions of workers in the broader economy are affected when labour disputes happen. We've had a decade of pro-union labour law changes, most of which was supported by all parties keen to court political support from unions. These changes have led to a much larger number of strikes and lockouts. When we close our ports, stop our rail and air service and even cancel the mail for months, it doesn't send the message that Canada is open for business. While the proposed changes are promising, none of this has been tested in the real world. I worry these changes may not be enough or that they may be simply ignored by unions who want to test the government's resolve. Government should be prepared to consider expanding essential services legislation if the new tools fail to reduce the number of work stoppages in Canada's critical supply chain.