But evidence of the tens of thousands of businesses that have closed can be found in shopping malls and on main streets across Canada.
Behind the figures and bordered-up businesses is the human toll the closures had on the entrepreneurs who saw their passions, dreams and financial lifeblood disappear.
These are the stories of three entrepreneurs from different industries who faced that arduous reality and agreed to share details about their businesses’ downfall, the emotions they’ve felt and how they’re trying to keep their chin up through the heartbreak.
‘I knew we couldn’t weather that storm’
It only took a few days after the Alberta government forced Scott McDermott to close down his fitness gym that he realized the ultimate fate of his business.
Leading up to the coronavirus lockdown in March, he had already cancelled group workouts and child-minding services as fears grew about the coronavirus pandemic. He and his staff were busy preparing online workouts, meal plans and programs for members.
Two days after Best Body Fitness in Sylvan Lake, a resort town in central Alberta, was told to close its doors, McDermott had his weekly meeting with his bookkeeper.
As they looked over the numbers, it hit him. No matter how successful the online offerings were, there was no financial path to overcoming how deep of a hit COVID-19 was going to have on his gym.
“I just had to stop and go, ‘You know what, this isn’t gonna work.'”
Photos before and after Best Body Fitness closed. Instead of a place for physical improvement, it’s now for spiritual devotion since a church is leasing the building. (Submitted by Scott McDermott)
Even if gyms would reopen quickly, there would be restrictions, and he knew some members wouldn’t feel comfortable returning for quite a while, regardless of the health and safety protocols introduced.
“I knew we couldn’t weather that storm,” he said.
“It was crystal clear. There was not a cell in my body that didn’t know that was the right decision.”
That March night he wept at his desk until 2 a.m. After 18 years in business, it was over.
“We put so much into it, and we helped so many lives, and we made such a difference, and it was just gone.”
WATCH | How this fitness gym owner realized his business would have to close:
During a meeting with his accountant, Scott McDermott knew instantly he had to shutdown his fitness gym for good. 3:43
After he informed the staff, customers who had prepaid memberships were invited back to take some of the fitness equipment as a trade.
Now, months later, McDermott is trying to stay positive. Instead of working upwards of 100 hours a week as an entrepreneur, his stress levels are noticeably down.
Part of the reason is because the gym was open 24 hours a day, so he always felt like he was working. In addition, the last five years were difficult financially with a struggling Alberta economy and rising business costs.
We stole from our RRSP, and we took from our savings account, and we borrowed money from our parents because you kept believing it’s going to get better. It’s going to turn the corner. When COVID hit, it’s like, no. That’s it.– Scott McDermott
“We stole from our RRSP, and we took from our savings account, and we borrowed money from our parents because you kept believing it’s going to get better. It’s going to turn the corner. When COVID hit, it’s like, no. That’s it.”
As painful as it was to shutter his business, he’s trying to enjoy this transition in life. He’s active with public speaking, online fitness coaching and writing two books. He’s also promoting a documentary about his recovery from a horrific cycling crash in 2015 during an ultra-endurance race.
He isn’t sure if any of these ventures will flourish enough to pay the bills, but he’s excited to find out.
“It’s like a blank slate,” he said. “I’m just trying to be creative and find a way.”
Scott McDermott is spending some of his time promoting a documentary about his recovery from a cycling crash in 2015 during an ultra-endurance race in Hawaii. (Living the Warrior Code)
‘Telling the team was really, really hard’
Unlike McDermott, Brianna Hallet was able to reopen her hair salon after the lockdown began in March. However, as the summer wore on, it became clear SwizzleSticks Salon Spa in Calgary was no longer viable.
Adhering to health restrictions meant operating at less than half capacity with up to seven stylists working at one time, even though there are 16 chairs.
The spa side of her business never did reopen to offer massages, facials and other services.
Meanwhile, she said her landlord wouldn’t budge on providing any relief, and the business struggled to pay the rent that was still owed for the spring months when the shop was closed.
Hallet also didn’t qualify for the federal government’s Canada Emergency Business Account, which provides small businesses with interest-free loans of up to $40,000.
“It just seemed like there were too many blockades, and we really didn’t know what the rest of the year would also hold. So even if we got through the next month, what would the next month bring? Would we have to be closed again?”
When the decision was made to permanently close, Hallet had her accountant in the room to help explain the situation to staff and help with the transition.
“Oh my gosh, telling the team was really, really hard. I had the PricewaterhouseCoopers team with me. So that was really nice to have some support on site, but that was an emotional day. Lots of tears.”
WATCH | It wasn’t just one financial obstacle to overcome:
Brianna Hallet was able to re-open SwizzleSticks after the lockdown measures, but it proved to be difficult. 2:25
The end of SwizzleSticks is still a painful reality for Hallet who worked there 14 years and was the owner for the last six years.
“It’s been hard. It’s been a really tough identity thing. I didn’t realize how much of my identity I placed within SwizzleSticks. Even last night, I was journaling some thoughts, and it’s still — it’s the identity,” she said, along with grief and mourning.
Hallet is thankful she kept up her skills behind the chair after becoming the salon owner, as she’s been able to find work at a different salon.
While her first experience as a business owner didn’t end the way she would have liked, it hasn’t diminished her entrepreneurial spirit.
“Absolutely, it’s just a part of me. There are too many opportunities not to do it again.”
Brianna Hallet is thankful she kept up her skills behind the chair as she’s been able to find work at Josef Saliba Salon in Calgary. (Kyle Bakx/CBC)
‘It feels like a huge loss of yourself’
At the beginning of the year, business was actually pretty good at Enzo Energy Services. The oilpatch has had many struggles since the severe price crash began in 2014, but in the early months of 2020, Casey Johnson’s shop in Red Deer, Alta., was pretty active, and crews were busy.
The trucking company hauled chemicals and other fluids for the oil and gas industry.
Still, he clearly remembers March 9. Saudi Arabia and Russia had begun flooding the market with oil as part of a price war and — coupled with growing coronavirus fears beginning to hurt demand for fuel — sent crude prices spiralling to their lowest levels in several years.
Enzo qualified for multiple government aid programs, but it didn’t make an impact.
“For the size of company we were, it was like firing a paintball gun at a tank. It just wasn’t enough,” he said. “The core issue was such a drop in demand for our services.”
Casey Johnson with his two sons in 2010 when he started his business, left, and pictured again this year before the final truck left the yard. Johnson says they wanted to recreate the photo because his boys were always part of the business, and it ‘gave me pause for reflection about what we’ve been able to do over the last decade.’ (Submitted by Casey Johnson)
In August, the business shutdown, and two auction companies were called to sell off everything from large trucks to office desks and chairs. Johnson always thought his business would eventually be sold or merged with a larger company.
“It was excruciating,” he said. “It was probably the hardest decision I’ve ever made in my life.”
At its height, the firm had 25 employees.
“To tell them and their families that their paycheque will not be coming from the business any longer was really hard.”
WATCH | The tough transition after closing your business:
After shuttering his business, Casey Johnson was fortunate to get a new job and in a way, create a new identity for himself 1:12
Johnson himself has been able to find work at an environmental company, which he described as a relief to keep him busy while this part of his life winds down. There’s still more work ahead to be done with creditors, and finding a new tenant for the building won’t be easy.
Still, he’s optimistic about the future. When he does reflect on the business, he tries to focus on the many high points of the 10-year journey.
“When a business closes down, it feels like a huge loss of yourself,” he said. “[But] we’re more than the job we do or the business that we own. And there’s more value to life than the business, even though when you’re in the middle of it, it can be hard to make that distinction.”
Enzo Energy Services operated for 10 years in the oilfield services sector. (Kyle Bakx/CBC)
HALIFAX – Ottawa is negotiating a $500-million bailout for Nova Scotia’s privately owned electric utility, saying the money will be used to prevent a big spike in electricity rates.
Federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson made the announcement today in Halifax, saying Nova Scotia Power Inc. needs the money to cover higher costs resulting from the delayed delivery of electricity from the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric plant in Labrador.
Wilkinson says that without the money, the subsidiary of Emera Inc. would have had to increase rates by 19 per cent over “the short term.”
Nova Scotia Power CEO Peter Gregg says the deal, once approved by the province’s energy regulator, will keep rate increases limited “to be around the rate of inflation,” as costs are spread over a number of years.
The utility helped pay for construction of an underwater transmission link between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, but the Muskrat Falls project has not been consistent in delivering electricity over the past five years.
Those delays forced Nova Scotia Power to spend more on generating its own electricity.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
TORONTO – Roots Corp. may have built its brand on all things comfy and cosy, but its CEO says activewear is now “really becoming a core part” of the brand.
The category, which at Roots spans leggings, tracksuits, sports bras and bike shorts, has seen such sustained double-digit growth that Meghan Roach plans to make it a key part of the business’ future.
“It’s an area … you will see us continue to expand upon,” she told analysts on a Friday call.
The Toronto-based retailer’s push into activewear has taken shape over many years and included several turns as the official designer and supplier of Team Canada’s Olympic uniform.
But consumers have had plenty of choice when it comes to workout gear and other apparel suited to their sporting needs. On top of the slew of athletic brands like Nike and Adidas, shoppers have also gravitated toward Lululemon Athletica Inc., Alo and Vuori, ramping up competition in the activewear category.
Roach feels Roots’ toehold in the category stems from the fit, feel and following its merchandise has cultivated.
“Our product really resonates with (shoppers) because you can wear it through multiple different use cases and occasions,” she said.
“We’ve been seeing customers come back again and again for some of these core products in our activewear collection.”
Her remarks came the same day as Roots revealed it lost $5.2 million in its latest quarter compared with a loss of $5.3 million in the same quarter last year.
The company said the second-quarter loss amounted to 13 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Aug. 3, the same as a year earlier.
In presenting the results, Roach reminded analysts that the first half of the year is usually “seasonally small,” representing just 30 per cent of the company’s annual sales.
Sales for the second quarter totalled $47.7 million, down from $49.4 million in the same quarter last year.
The move lower came as direct-to-consumer sales amounted to $36.4 million, down from $37.1 million a year earlier, as comparable sales edged down 0.2 per cent.
The numbers reflect the fact that Roots continued to grapple with inventory challenges in the company’s Cooper fleece line that first cropped up in its previous quarter.
Roots recently began to use artificial intelligence to assist with daily inventory replenishments and said more tools helping with allocation will go live in the next quarter.
Beyond that time period, the company intends to keep exploring AI and renovate more of its stores.
It will also re-evaluate its design ranks.
Roots announced Friday that chief product officer Karuna Scheinfeld has stepped down.
Rather than fill the role, the company plans to hire senior level design talent with international experience in the outdoor and activewear sectors who will take on tasks previously done by the chief product officer.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, are set to resume today as a strike that has stopped most services drags into a second week.
No timeline has been set for the length of the negotiations, but Joe McCann, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they are willing to stay there as long as it takes, even if talks drag on all night.
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people unable to navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last Tuesday, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
Hundreds of drivers rallied outside TransLink’s head office earlier this week, calling for the transportation provider to intervene in the dispute with Transdev, which was contracted to oversee HandyDART service.
Transdev said earlier this week that it will provide a reply to the union’s latest proposal on Thursday.
A statement from the company said it “strongly believes” that their employees deserve fair wages, and that a fair contract “must balance the needs of their employees, clients and taxpayers.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
