These are the findings from a BMO Bank of Montreal report released in October.
According to the BMO survey, 51% of Canadian businesses think 2012 will be a better year than 2011, and only 13% expect it to be worse. In addition, 79% of Canadian business owners also plan to invest the same amount or more into their business in 2012, said a new report from BMO Bank of Montreal.
Optimistic respondents cite a number of factors, top among them being business optimism (14%), confidence in an improved market environment (12%), their restructured or improved business practices (11%), the economy is getting better (10%) and that they have expansion/business growth plans (8%). Less optimistic businesses see the economy worsening (20%), fewer customers/less demand (19%), increased costs of doing business (14%) and poor business conditions, particularly in the U.S. and European economies (12%).
The study also finds that one in three Canadian businesses believe the U.S. economy will underperform in the next five years and as a result have changed their plans to invest, expand and hire. Also, one in four Canadian businesses say that a poorly performing U.S. economy will be their biggest challenge for 2012. After the recession, Canadian firms took a series of measures to mitigate their risk by sourcing new suppliers, diversifying to ensure they were not overly reliant on a single customer, sector or market, or by encouraging innovation.
The survey by Leger Marketing was conducted on the phone between August 30 and September 16, 2011, with a sample of 509 small, medium and large l business owners.