The Canadian Federation of Independant Business is encouraging the public to shop local this Canada Day with its Big Thank You Contest.

Brianna Solberg with the CFIB says all you have to do is visit small business every day and leave a message recommending any small business that you love. Both the supporter and the business could win up to $1000 or $3000 respectively, as well as a gift basket of Canadian-made products.

She explains that the incentive comes as small businesses are grappling with rising costs, labour shortages, supply chain disruptions, tariffs, inflation, and even pandemic debt. Despite this, small businesses are also acknowledging the positives coming out of the trade war with the United States.

“Canadian consumers are increasingly choosing to shop local. Since the start of the trade war, around 40 per cent of small businesses say they’ve seen a boost in sales of Canadian-made goods, especially in retail, hospitality, and wholesale.”

However, she adds that the boost in local spending is hard to sustain, as people often revert to old habits of shopping at big box stores.

“When we choose to shop local, 66 cents of every dollar that we spend in the local economy stays in the local economy, as opposed to only 11 cents of every dollar when we shop at large multi-national firms.”

This is because small businesses are hiring local labour, supporting local sports teams, and donating to local charities.

CFIB is also calling on the provincial government to provide some affordability measures and tax relief such as removing the PPST on capital expenditures.