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Different reopening strategies in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick have had a significant impact on the survival and sales of businesses in each province.
New data from the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses (CFIB) shows a stark difference in the health of small businesses in both New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
According to the CFIB’s latest survey, 67 percent of small businesses in New Brunswick have now fully reopened. Of those, 24 percent say their sales are back to pre-Covid-19 levels.
That’s significantly higher than the national average, which shows 51 percent of small businesses currently open and 17 percent with normal sales.
Nova Scotia, meanwhile, sits below the national average. There, only 50 percent of small businesses have fully reopened and only 12 percent are selling at their normal, pre-Covid-19 rate.
According to the CFIB’s director of provincial affairs for New Brunswick, Louis-Philippe Gauthier, that gap is largely the result of both province’s reopening strategies.
He says you can draw a straight line between how quickly provinces began reopening their economies and the percentage of businesses open today.
“These numbers are a direct reflection of what the initial measures were, and how they’ve evolved over time,” he says.
New Brunswick was one of the first provinces to begin reopening its economy after the Covid-19 shutdown. On May 8, the province allowed restaurants and malls to reopen if they followed public health guidelines.
By May 22, the province had announced an upcoming expansion to its permitted gathering size to 50 people and said gyms, swimming pools, and yoga studio would be able to reopen.
Meanwhile, in Nova Scotia, restaurants, gyms, and most other businesses weren’t allowed to reopen until June 5, again under strict health regulations. And the province hasn’t yet allowed people to gather in groups of more than 10.
Gauthier says “the only reason there’s a difference” in the number of businesses open in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia “is that New Brunswick started its reopening earlier.”
Although New Brunswick began its reopening earlier, the province now has more active Covid-19 cases than Nova Scotia.
The New Brunswick government was forced to delay some of its planned reopenings after a small flare-up of Covid-19. As of June 17, there were 29 active Covid-19 cases in the province.
In Nova Scotia, there were two active cases on June 17 and no new cases have been reported for eight straight days.
Trevor Nichols is a reporter with Huddle, an Acadia Broadcasting content partner.
