It is not unusual these days to hear of a local business closing its doors as its owners lose the commercial battle with COVID-19. But it is happening less frequently in Saskatchewan than other parts of the country.
To get a sense of how Canadian businesses are faring, there is a new report that tracks openings, closures and survival rates. The most evident bit of data it carries is that Saskatchewan’s businesses are a pretty sturdy lot.
From June to October of 2021, for example, the number of active businesses in Canada fell about 1,000 a month.
In Saskatchewan we went up 17. Regina was down 30 and Saskatoon up about 40 over those five months.
Over that period, even though Saskatchewan experienced nearly 1,100 closures, the entrepreneurial spirit remained quite strong with more than 1,000 reopening after temporary closures as well as more than 400 totally new start-ups resulting in a net gain.
No doubt one factor playing a role in this story is the provincial government’s approach to public health measures regarding COVID-19 and an environment that was more relaxed than other regions.
