Toronto Will 'Snap Back' Fast When Life Goes Back To Normal, According To This Expert

Lockdown has taken a toll on Toronto's small businesses, and one expert believes that it may get worse before it gets better.

Dr. Ian Lee, associate professor of economics at Carleton University, predicts Toronto will make a quick comeback post-pandemic. 

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I think we will snap back from the [COVID-19] pandemic very quickly. Dr. Ian Lee

However, not before the city sees a "significant increase in bankruptcies over the winter months."

"We’re not looking for excuses to stay in our house. We are looking for reasons to get out of our house," he told Narcity over the phone.

"There’s so much opposition to the lockdown and that’s, to me, the proof that we’re going to snap back very quickly."

Lee predicts that this resurgence will begin when the vaccines become widely available. 

"We know from [...] the data that small businesses snap back very quickly," said Lee.

"I think there's going to be an explosion of entrepreneurship after the pandemic is over," he said.

Lee says that small businesses are still expected to see a significant increase in closures and bankruptcies this winter.

"So I think we’re going to see a significant spike in normal businesses failing,” he said.

According to a report by Statistics Canada, 25,614 Ontario businesses have shut their doors forever between February and September.