Canadian Chamber of Commerce, StatCan partnering to create massive business conditions survey

In an effort to collect time-sensitive data about what businesses are going through as they struggle with COVID-19 and how they’re planning for the eventual recovery, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and Statistics Canada are teaming up to create the Canadian Survey of Business Conditions (CSBC), potentially one of the largest crowdsourced business intelligence surveys in Canadian history.

The survey will examine issues like the impact that COVID-19 has had on businesses, changes that businesses have made to adapt to the ongoing situation, challenges they continue to face, and challenges they expect to face as the recovery begins, and will provide new insights into trends within the business community.

“Credible, reliable data is the foundation for sound decision-making by business leaders, market analysts and policy makers,” Jackie King, chief operating officer of the Canadian Chamber, said in a statement. “During a crisis like COVID-19, relevant and timely data is mission critical, and that’s why we’ve partnered with Statistics Canada to leverage our network of 200,000 businesses. The survey will be an invaluable tool for government to understand what businesses are going through during the shutdown, but also going forward as we recover and return to growth.”

The new survey will be in the field this week and collect data on how businesses are currently coping with COVID-19, but the survey may be repeated in the coming weeks, depending on how the situation progresses.

The Canadian Chamber also said it will work with over 100 of Canada’s business and industry associations – including the Business Council of Canada, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, and Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters – to bring the full benefit of their respective memberships to the survey.