Canadian small businesses are less optimistic about their prospects over the next 12 months than they were during the pandemic, the 2008 financial crisis or the period following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S., according to a monthly index compiled by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. (The Logic)

Talking point: The ongoing U.S. trade war is the main driver. Tariffs pose an existential threat to many Canadian small businesses, which are responsible for 90 per cent of the country’s exports and about a third of private-sector GDP. Some are already struggling with cost increases, slumping demand and cancelled contracts, with 62 per cent of firms surveyed by the CFIB saying the tariffs are already having a negative impact. The U.S. has made exceptions to its levies of 25 per cent on most imports for goods covered by the North American free trade deal it imposed on March 4, prompting many businesses to file paperwork for the agreement they had never previously bothered to complete.