As Canadians head to the polls to elect their next federal government, small business owners will be voting based on five key economic factors, according to one expert.
“Make no mistake about it, right now, the economy is the top priority for small businesses when they’re voting in today’s election,” Daryl Ching, founder and managing partner at Vistance Capital Advisory, told BNN Bloomberg in a Monday interview.
Ching said that under Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government, Canada lagged behind its peers in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and other economic indicators, especially in comparison to the U.S.
“The divergence in the economies between Canada and the U.S. in terms of labour, productivity and GDP have hit all-time highs. We have a lot of ground to make up for… I think there’s really five things that small businesses are focused on,” he said.
The first is tax cuts and the overall reduction of costs for small businesses. “The Conservatives have put out the most aggressive tax cut agenda that I have seen in recent history, so they have an edge there,” said Ching.
“We want to see expansionary programs to help support businesses that are impacted by tariffs and want to do more trade. The Liberals have a much more comprehensive platform of $6.5 billion versus $3 billion for the Conservative, so you’re more likely to get support under a Liberal platform.”
Thirdly, Ching said small businesses would like to see a reduction of red tape and regulations, making it easier to operate, especially across provinces. He said the Conservatives have put forward a more “aggressive” plan to reduce regulations than the other major parties.
Ching said small business owners would also like Canada to foster better trade relations with countries other than the U.S., meaning an expansion of economic partnerships globally, which would help Canadian firms compete.
When it comes to which of the two leading parties would deliver better results on that front, Ching said “it’s a bit more subjective,” since the respective Liberal and Conservative platforms on the issue are very different, “but I would give the edge to the Liberals.”
“Number five would be development of the workforce, and the (Liberal and Conservative) agendas are quite similar in that regard, but you could argue that there’s maybe a slight edge for the Liberals in that platform as well,” he said.
Interprovincial trade
Following threats from U.S. President Donald Trump to Canadian sovereignty and its economy, Canada’s major party leaders have said that if elected, they would encourage free trade between provinces as a way to diversify Canada’s economy and become less dependent on the U.S.
Both Pierre Poilievre and Mark Carney, the respective leaders of the federal Conservative and Liberal parties, have voiced their support for the reduction of interprovincial trade barriers – a move most Canadian small business owners support, said Ching.
“The real focus on this election I think is going to be on the interprovincial trade barriers,” he said.
“What the Liberals are proposing is to reduce a lot of the red tape and eliminate federal exceptions… the Conservatives are saying they want to eliminate all provincial trade barriers, so they are far more aggressive in their goal in terms of what they want to accomplish.”
