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Caption: An Enbridge Inc. tank farm stands in this aerial photograph taken above the Athabasca Oil Sands near Fort McMurray, Alta.Ben Nelms

As federal political parties start campaigning for the upcoming federal election, small business owners and advocates are waiting for more detailed platforms to see which parties will offer the most supportive policies. There's a lot at stake for small businesses in a faltering Canadian economy.

"Small businesses have been fairly prominent on the political radar over the past couple years, but I do think all political parties have been even more attentive to small- and medium-sized firms lately," says Dan Kelly, president and CEO of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).

Given there are 2.5-million Canadian entrepreneurs who are self-employed or operating small- or medium-sized businesses, politicians are recognizing the importance of this demographic.

There has already been some progress across the parties' spectrum with regards to key small-business issues, says Mr. Kelly. For example, all parties have pledged to lower the small business corporate tax rate to 9 per cent from 11 per cent.

One big issue CFIB will be watching closely is the expansion of the Canadian Pension Plan (CPP). Imposing mandatory new costs would hurt the economy, as small businesses would have to hike payroll taxes, affecting job creation, says Mr. Kelly.

All three major parties have proposals for CPP reform. Conservative Finance Minister Joe Oliver made it clear his party's focus would be limited to voluntary options for Canadians to save more through CPP. New Democrats and Liberals favour mandatory increases in premiums to pay for more generous CPP benefits in retirement.

The bigger issue for small business, however, is the state of the Canadian economy.

"The economy is pretty shaky right now, and there's a lot of worry on the part of business owners with where things are headed," Mr. Kelly says. "So small-business owners will be even more attentive to all things economic in this election … watching the parties' plans to try to get the economy back on a more sound footing than is the case today."

Alberta and much of western Canada has been hit hard by low commodity prices and a sinking Canadian dollar. Ken Kobly, president and CEO of the Alberta Chambers of Commerce has seen first-hand how the province's small businesses have reacted to the battered resource sector and the NDP's unexpected provincial election win. Add to those concerns the impact of changes to the temporary foreign workers program and a severe drought, and Alberta is a hotbed of issues for small businesses.

"Alberta is definitely a roller-coaster economy, and we've seen this before," says Mr. Kobly. "You go down for a bit and then you come up again, so it's creating a lot of anxiety, and certainly a lot of concerns for small business."

From a political perspective, Mr. Kobly is concerned with the impact of the NDP provincial government's policies.

"In the last month and a half since the election, Alberta's experienced a review in minimum wage, we're in the midst of consulting on a royalty review, there was an increase to the carbon tax for emitters, and a corporate tax increase for large corporations. So it's not just one issue – it's more an effect of the layering of those and the anxiety that comes along with not knowing what's coming up," he says.

Federal NDP leader Thomas Mulcair has talked up his economic platforms recently to various business audiences as he tries to alter his party's reputation as being not friendly to business. He's pledged to increase the federal minimum wage, cut small business taxes, and introduce new a tax credit for innovation and an accelerated capital cost credit, policies he says would help manufacturers to modernize their plants. He's also promised to spend an extra $1.5-billion in gas taxes on infrastructure projects, to introduce a national childcare program, and deliver balanced budgets.

The Harper government's pre-election budget also offered investment incentives to the hard-hit manufacturing sector.

The Liberals, meanwhile, have focused on improving economic conditions for middle-class Canadians, but besides cutting the small-business tax, they had not revealed their small-business platform so far.

Some people are more skeptical of party intentions. Walid Hejazi, an associate professor at Rotman School of Management, says he doubts the parties will deliver on all their campaign promises.

"The engine of growth in this economy is small business, and yet there's no small business strategy," says Mr. Hejazi.

Too often, he adds, "governments make decisions, very political decisions, and they have negative implications for small business."

One of the biggest criticisms Mr. Hejazi has heard from business owners is that there's intense focus on the problems of the energy sector, but far too little support for developing manufacturing and other industries.

"It's not all about oil," he says. "There has to be more of a focus on other industries."

Manufacturers, he continues, are especially hurt by the uncertainty of the Canadian dollar. When oil sold for $100 a barrel, it drove up the Canadian dollar and, as a result, many exporters, especially small ones, weren't able to remain competitive. Now that the dollar has dropped, the idea is that the exports should surge, but many businesses reduced their manufacturing capacity during that time.

"The [currency] uncertainty really affects small businesses," Mr. Hejazi says, "because it's hard for them to get capital and they don't want to invest in manufacturing unless they're really sure that the Canadian dollar can stay low."

He adds that more needs to be done by the federal government to support innovation: "The idea is that, if you're producing products that are of high quality or differentiated, even when the Canadian dollar goes up, people will still buy your product."

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