StatCan reports fewer business closures, more openings in June compared with May

Statistics Canada recorded 56,296 business closures in June, an improvement from May but still 44 per cent more than in February before COVID-19 struck in force in Canada.

The number of business closures in June was down 5.6 per cent nationally compared with May, with Quebec being the only province or territory showing an increase, Statcan said Monday.

The largest decreases since the previous month occurred in Nova Scotia (down 29.3 per cent or 403 fewer), Newfoundland and Labrador (down 21.5 per cent or 199 fewer), and Alberta (down 19.5 per cent or 1,688 fewer).

There were also 52,723 business openings nationally in June, 33 per cent more than Statistics Canada recorded in May.

But only about one-fifth of all businesses that closed in March or April had reopened by June and 14.1 per cent of businesses that were active in February remain closed as of June, it said.

“In all provinces and territories, with the exception of Prince Edward Island and the Yukon, the number of business closures remains higher than the pre-COVID level of February,” Statcan said.

“For instance, in Ontario, the level of business closures in June was 47 per cent greater than the February level.”

There were nearly 800,000 active businesses in the business sector in February, it said.

The novel coronavirus was first identified in China in late 2019 had been recognized as a significant threat to human health by February but the World Health Organization didn’t officially declared COVID-19 as a global pandemic until March 11.