Hanna is a Staff Writer based in Vancouver. You can reach her at hanna.hett@dailyhive.com.

Businesses in B.C are losing confidence about the future of their operations due to rising energy prices and increased taxes.
B.C.&#8217;s long-term small business confidence index went down by 3.9 points in March to 57.3 points, according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business&#8217; monthly business barometer. Its historical average is 61.4 points.
CFIB has been tracking small business confidence for over 25 years, measuring how small business owners feel about the next three to 12 months of their operations, explained Ryan Mitton, CFIB&#8217;s director of legislative affairs for B.C.
&#8220;[It measures] whether they&#8217;re confident their business will improve, or whether it will get worse,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And so an index of 50 means that 50 per cent are feeling less confident than more confident.&#8221;
&#8220;Currently, what we&#8217;ve seen is that business confidence has taken a fall, a stumble,&#8221; Mitton said.
In March 2025, B.C. business confidence was at an all-time low at 29.1 points due to uncertainty around tariffs, but it had started to recover in the past few months.
Mitton blames the drop on <a href="https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/bc-business-leaders-pst-expansion-opposition" target="_blank">B.C.&#8217;s recent PST expansion</a>, which, starting on Oct. 1, 2026, will include professional services like accounting and bookkeeping. CFIB recently started a <a href="https://www.cfib-fcei.ca/en/petition/bc-pst-petition" target="_blank">petition</a> calling on the province to halt the expansion.
Further, the war in Iran has caused <a href="https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/expect-metro-vancouver-gas-prices-increase" target="_blank">fuel prices to surge</a>, adding increased pressure to businesses.
CFIB measures fuel costs in the monthly business barometer as a cost concern, and Mitton said that from last month, it increased from 25 to 35 per cent.
&#8220;We&#8217;re starting to hear across the country concerns about rising energy costs and how this will impact operations,&#8221; Mitton said.
&#8220;I think you just have to go look at the gas station to see what the price of gas is, and think about your contractor, or your trades person who&#8217;s driving into downtown to work on a project every day. Things are going to get more expensive.&#8221;
A recent survey from Merchant Growth found that <a href="https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/bc-businesses-plan-raise-prices" target="_blank">53 per cent of B.C. businesses</a> said they will be forced to increase prices due to continued tariffs and the skyrocketing oil prices.
Mitton added that small businesses are already saying they are &#8220;tapped out.&#8221;
&#8220;Especially in B.C., we hear from businesses every day that say that the cost of doing business is too high, and so that&#8217;s why we&#8217;re very concerned,&#8221; he said.
&#8220;Even a marginal cost increase in fuel, combined with the increase in taxes, plus the debt and the stress and the cost of the trade war over the past year. This is going to push businesses to the edge.&#8221;
<ul class="article-see-also">You might also like:<li><a href='https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/expect-metro-vancouver-gas-prices-increase' target='_blank'>Expect Metro Vancouver gas prices to get even worse</a></li><li><a href='https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/bc-businesses-plan-raise-prices' target='_blank'>Over half of B.C. businesses plan to raise their prices in the next six months</a></li><li><a href='https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/bc-business-leaders-pst-expansion-opposition' target='_blank'>Business leaders slam B.C.&#039;s PST expansion, warn it will hurt housing, jobs, investment, and competitiveness</a></li></ul>

Vancouver

B.C.'s small business confidence levels dropped in March, according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.