{"id":543268,"date":"2026-03-17T23:01:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T23:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/543268\/"},"modified":"2026-03-17T23:01:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T23:01:07","slug":"why-b-c-residents-may-be-paying-more-over-the-next-six-months","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/543268\/","title":{"rendered":"Why B.C. residents may be paying more over the next six months"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gas prices aren\u2019t the only commodity set to rise in price<\/a>. A recent survey found that over half of B.C. businesses will increase their prices over the next six months.<\/p>\n

Merchant Growth, the company that conducted the survey, said that while 38 per cent of B.C. businesses didn\u2019t pass any added costs to customers last year, 53 per cent of them will be forced to do so in 2026 due to\u00a0continued tariffs and now skyrocketing oil prices.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt this point, passing on some of those costs is not optional anymore. It is what is required to stay viable,\u201d David Gens, the founder and CEO of Merchant Growth, told Daily Hive in an email.<\/p>\n

Forty-five per cent reported that tariffs and trade disruptions have reduced their profit margins, and the recent war in the Middle East is further escalating costs for businesses.<\/p>\n

One in 10 businesses also said that they will have to reduce their workforce over the next six months.<\/p>\n

Stats Canada released its February 2026 labour force survey results last week, finding that B.C. has already shed over 20,000 jobs last month.<\/p>\n

How is the Iran war impacting business and prices?<\/p>\n

As Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz (where 20 per cent of the world\u2019s oil passes), crude oil prices are going up, which Gens said is affecting the entire supply chain.<\/p>\n

For example, restaurants and retailers are now facing higher costs of shipping. Contractors and tradespeople who often drive to work are paying more at the pump.<\/p>\n

Gens said we can expect fresh produce, meat, and imported goods to increase between five and 10 per cent.<\/p>\n

People who run a vehicle-heavy operation, like plumbers, electricians, and renovators, will likely factor this into their quotes and raise prices.<\/p>\n

Hospitably operators, who already run on thin margins, will have to adjust menu prices, he said.<\/p>\n

How does inflation factor into all of this?<\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s inflation rate fell last month to 1.8 per cent<\/a>, but it \u201cdoesn\u2019t necessarily reflect what small businesses are feeling on the ground,\u201d said Gens in a release.<\/p>\n

\u201cA big part of the slowdown comes from how last year\u2019s tax break is showing up in the comparison, not because the core costs of running a business have suddenly eased,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor many operators, the day-to-day reality hasn\u2019t changed much. The cost of food, supplies, transportation and rent is still high, and demand tends to be uneven coming out of the winter months. After months of absorbing those pressures and cutting back where they can, pricing is often one of the few tools left to keep the business stable,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

On March 18, the Bank of Canada will announce its interest rate decision. Ratehub.ca mortgage expert Penelope Graham told Daily Hive that she predicts it will hold at 2.25 per cent<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Bank uses this policy interest rate<\/a> as its main tool to control inflation. If it increases interest rates, it makes borrowing money more expensive, and people are more inclined to save, which in turn reduces consumer demand.<\/p>\n

Lowering interest rates, meanwhile, can help increase economic activity if it\u2019s lagging, as borrowing costs are cheaper and people are more inclined to spend more and save less.<\/p>\n

However, Merchant Growth said if the Bank holds the rate steady, it \u201ccould worsen inflationary pressures on operators.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gens said that this is because inflation is driven by external cost shocks, not Canadians spending too freely.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo the traditional tool of raising rates to cool demand doesn\u2019t really address what\u2019s causing prices to rise,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Gens argued that if the Bank of Canada implemented a modest rate reduction, it would lower debt payments for small businesses that are surviving on credit, as well as give consumers more breathing room.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, the bigger threat to the Canadian economy isn\u2019t runaway consumer spending, it\u2019s a slow strangulation of small businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gas prices aren\u2019t the only commodity set to rise in price. A recent survey found that over half…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":543269,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[45,49,48,46],"class_list":["post-543268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-business","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-economy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543268","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=543268"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543268\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/543269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=543268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=543268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=543268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}