Business Outlook Survey: Second Quarter 2024 – Bank of Canada
July 23, 2024Attention business owners, financial analysts, and policy makers: Uncertainty and cost pressures remain top concerns for firms, driven by domestic factors such as economic growth, costs, interest rates, and tax policies. Businesses tied to discretionary spending reported particularly weak sales expectations, while those tied to essential spending see population growth continuing to benefit their sales. Notably, tax and regulation concerns have surged, with firms pointing to red tape and regulations as slowing their plans, and to taxes, predominantly the carbon tax, as increasing their costs. However, capacity pressures like labour shortages and supply chain challenges are declining in importance.
