18.9%

Conservative MP Bob Saroya asked the government in an order paper question how many small businesses they forecasted would go under due to the pandemic and the data so far showed an interesting result. According to statistics from the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, Canada saw 18.9 per cent fewer bankruptcies to August 2020, as compared to the same time frame in 2019. The government did caution, however, that bankruptcy is a lagging indicator of the health of the economy, with the worst results often coming much later in a typical recession. The government wasn't sure whether the typical trends would carry through this time, in part because of the large amount of help businesses had received through the wage subsidy, rent programs and low-interest loans, but pledged to continue monitoring the situation.