Business Obstacles Forecast for Q1 2026 by Industry and Size

Survey data details obstacles expected by Canadian businesses and organizations over a three-month period. The dataset is categorized by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), business employment size, type of business, activity, and majority ownership. It was published by Statistics Canada for the first quarter of 2026.

Use Cases

• Analyze correlation between business_employment_size and reported obstacle types.
• Compare obstacle prevalence across different NAICS industry codes.
• Model the relationship between type_of_business or majority_ownership and forecasted challenges.
• Identify temporal patterns in business concerns using the quarterly time indicator.

Strengths

• Data is structured by standardized NAICS codes for consistent industry analysis.
• Covers multiple business dimensions including size, type, activity, and ownership.
• Published by the national statistical agency, Statistics Canada.

Limitations

• Exact row count and sample size are unknown.
• Data is a forward-looking survey of expectations, not a record of actual events.
• Geographic coverage is limited to Canada.

Provenance

Source

Statistics Canada | Statistique Canada

Collection Method

Business survey.

Time Range

First quarter of 2026 (forecast period).

Freshness

Data is for a future period (Q1 2026), published in February 2026.

Geography

Canada