New data from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) says nearly two-thirds of small and mid-sized businesses are “taking a hit” due to ongoing trade uncertainties between the U.S. and Canada.

“To say that small businesses are feeling worried is an understatement,” Simon Gaudreault, CFIB’s chief economist and vice president of research said in a press release Tues.

“No one likes to be strung along, small businesses least of all. The ever changing news developments and on-again, off-again tariff threats are exhausting and just very bad for the economy, investment and long-term business planning,” he said.

Those most impacted include manufacturing, wholesale, and transportation sectors, according to the data from CFIB’s upcoming Monthly Business Barometer.

CFIB is now urging the government to “recall Parliament immediately to scrap the upcoming 19 per cent carbon tax increase and pass legislation to make sure carbon tax rebates are tax free,” the Tues. release said.

The CFIB is Canada’s largest association of small and medium sized businesses. It has 100,000 members across industries and regions.

Earlier this month, the federation said the Donald Trump administration’s 25 per cent tariffs “are a massive broadside to the Canadian economy and come at a time of great political and economic uncertainty.”

Now, CFIB is asking the Canadian government to pass proposed legislation to “increase the lifetime capital gains and exemption threshold to $1.25 million and ensure the promised Canadian Entrepreneurs’ Incentive stays in place.”

Any funds collected from Canadian retaliatory tariffs should also be returned to affected businesses “as quickly as possible,” the CFIB said.

“We cannot wait until Parliament is back on March 24 to sort out the current mess and allow the ongoing uncertainty to drag on for any longer. Ottawa owes it to small businesses to provide some clarity and assurance in these turbulent times,” said Connie Pohlmann, executive vice president of advocacy at CFIB.

“Small businesses need help keeping doors open, not taking on more debt through loans," Pohlmann added.

Methodology - These findings are based on 1,064 responses received from March 5 to 7, 2025 to a stratified random sample of CFIB members via a controlled-access web survey. The survey is accurate to within +/- 3.0 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.