Manitoba economy: CFIB report claims lower business confidence [Video]

Manitoba businesses are feeling less confident heading into the holiday shopping season, according to a new report.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) released its business barometer for Manitoba on Thursday, showing the long-term confidence for members at 49.3 per cent, the lowest among the provinces.

Brianna Solberg, director of provincial affairs with CFIB, said these numbers are staggering, especially as holiday shopping is starting to ramp up.

“They have not seen the sort of revenues that they would expect to see around this time of year,” she said. “It basically says that despite the Bank of Canada’s interest rate cuts, consumers aren’t necessarily running out of the house to go and spend money, and when they are, we know that their spending habits have shifted to online, multinational retail chains.”

Solberg said inflation has resulted in a decline in local shopping and a move to online retailers and …