REGINA — Zensurance has released numbers from its Small Business Confidence Index, and they show considerable strain for small businesses on the Prairies.
According to the annual survey released last week, almost half, or 49 per cent, of Manitoba and Saskatchewan small business owners have used personal credit cards or home equity to fund their operations — the highest share in Canada. More than half, or 54 per cent, have considered closing permanently at some point this year.
The survey also finds Manitoba and Saskatchewan have the highest share of businesses operating without insurance coverage in the whole country, at 68 per cent.
Danish Yusuf, CEO and founder of Zensurance, spoke to SaskToday about the findings and acknowledged they were troubling.
“That's part and parcel of the bigger theme, I'd say, which is an all-time low in confidence for Manitoba and Saskatchewan residents, where previously something like 50 per cent had low confidence,” Yusuf said.
“Now, up to 70 per cent of respondents have low confidence.”
As for business owners dipping into credit cards or home equity to keep businesses afloat, Yusuf calls it a “troubling sign.” He says business owners are naming inflation as the biggest challenge they face.
“While the costs are going up, the revenues aren’t keeping pace with that,” he said. “The cash has to come from somewhere. Either it's passed on to customers through higher prices or it’s the person funding it, and quite a few are personally funding that gap for now. It’s quite a concerning trend.”
When coupled with the insurance aspect, Yusuf points to a particularly precarious situation.
“Sixty-one per cent nationwide don't have any insurance at all. The big reason for that is people are feeling like, hey, we're not worried about that, that’s not a risk that could impact us.”
But when claims are coming in, “that’s a risky thing,” he said.
“When you are personally funding the business, don't have insurance and something happens, well, that takes a bad situation to a potentially calamitous situation.”
Other notable findings for Manitoba and Saskatchewan from the report include the following:
69 per cent say operating expenses are up compared with a year ago;
58 per cent say rising gas prices have negatively impacted their business;
56 per cent say the economy has negatively impacted their business since the start of the year;
39 per cent report revenues lower than in the first half of 2025;
35 per cent point to customer non-payment as their most significant business risk, the highest regional share in Canada.
A particularly troubling statistic Yusuf points to is the 54 per cent in Manitoba and Saskatchewan saying they have considered closing permanently at some point in 2026.
“Yeah, I think just when you look at half the population feeling like your business may not make it, that’s a pretty troubling sign. And in that path, a lot of those, just given the numbers, are self-funding it with a mindset that our business may not make it.”
However, he does point to one significant piece of good news in the survey — 68 per cent of owners across the country are “saying they're proactively planning changes, adjustments, restructuring just to be able to stay ahead of the curve, which is a positive sign for that many people to be saying they're taking proactive steps.”
So while there are troubling trends, Yusuf says people are planning ahead and “hopefully things don’t turn for the worse.”
The lack of business confidence in Manitoba and Saskatchewan is not unique to that area. At the national level, it is at a three-year low of 49 per cent, compared with 70 per cent in 2024.
“It's a national trend of confidence dipping and using personal credit cards,” Yusuf said. “There are some variances by age category and province, like, for instance, Gen Z and Gen X, but generally the trend is year over year.”
This is the fifth year of the survey for Zensurance, which says it is Canada’s leading source for small business insurance, with a client support team and a network of more than 50 insurance providers.
The Pollfish survey, conducted by Zensurance from June 5 to June 22, sampled responses from 1,000 self-employed Canadian adults aged 18 to 64. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
