Canada’s CFIB Business Barometer long‑term index, which measures expectations for business performance over the next 12 months, dropped sharply to 46.3 in May 2026 from a downwardly revised 58.0 in April, reaching its lowest level in a year. The short‑term optimism index, based on the 3‑month outlook, also fell by about 7 points to 47.9, signaling a further weakening in business sentiment.
The deterioration in long‑term expectations was broad‑based across sectors, with some of the most pronounced declines seen in retail (53.4 vs. 63.5), health and education (51.7 vs. 61.5), hospitality (47.3 vs. 57.1), and agriculture (44.6 vs. 53.3).
On the cost side, the average planned price increase eased slightly to 3.1% from 3.2% in March but remained relatively elevated, while average wage growth intentions were unchanged at 2.4%. Full‑time hiring plans stayed weak, with a larger share of firms expecting to reduce staff (16%) than to expand their workforce (14%).
