More Than Half of Canadian Companies Seeing Sales Drop at Least 20 percent: StatCan

A sign on a store window in Ottawa on March 23, 2020. Most economists agree that many small businesses will not survive the shutdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

OTTAWA—Statistics Canada reports nearly one-third of Canadian businesses who responded in a newly released survey have seen their revenues plummet by 40 percent as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A further one-fifth of businesses reported a revenue drop of between 20 percent and 40 percent, suggesting that more than half of Canadian companies have watched sales drop significantly since the crisis began in March.