Canada Lost Thousands Of Businesses To The Pandemic & These Provinces Got Hit The Hardest

Canadian business closures were seen all over the country as a result of the pandemic and seemingly no province in the country has been left unscathed. 

Still, some provinces prove to have gotten the shorter end of the stick and have felt the sting of more closures, according to data collected by Narrative Research, who surveyed 1,233 Canadians between January 15 and 19, 2021.

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43% Of Canadians have seen a favourite restaurant shut down

According to the report, around one-third of Canadians said that a store they visited often closed its doors forever and more than 40% saw a favourite restaurant shut down during the pandemic.

The survey also found that store closures were seen more in the Prairie provinces and Quebec, with 40% of Canadians reporting losing a preferred place to shop in these provinces compared to less than 30% across Atlantic Canada.

But when it comes to restaurants, Ontarians reported the most closures of their regularly visited spots at 46%. Additionally, about 40% of people saw losses in B.C., the Prairies and Quebec.

When combining the data as a whole, the report showed that 36% of Canadians witnessed a store they love shutter and 43% have seen the same thing happen for restaurants.

In 2020 alone, the country saw more than 10,000 restaurants close down forever.

What's more, Gen Z and millennials were apparently more likely to have seen a favourite location shut down when compared to other generations. 

"Despite many government assistance programs and community supports for small businesses, there is no doubt it’s been a challenging year for retail and those in food services," Margaret Brigley, CEO and partner at Narrative Research said.