Ford’s Ontario lagging behind other provinces in reopening businesses

Alberta, Manitoba, and New Brunswick are all touching on the 50 percent mark for functioning businesses, whereas Ontario is dwindling at a measly 26 percent.

This places Ontario behind every single province aside from Newfoundland and Labrador.

The percentage of businesses that have reopened across Canada has grown dramatically from just over a month ago—going from 21 percent to 36 percent.

“It’s good to see that the share of businesses fully open is finally larger than businesses fully closed due to COVID-19,” said the CFIB president.

"While it is good news that more firms are beginning to open across the country, it is important to keep in mind that 67 percent of businesses remain fully or partially closed due to COVID-19," he added.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has been notably cautious about reopening Ontario's economy, leading to some criticism from previously supportive segments of the media.

Ford's reluctance to reopen the economy comes in spite of encouraging health-related news in the province: Ontario's number of daily coronavirus cases, for instance, dropped below 400 on Wednesday.