Six in 10 Alberta small-business owners surveyed by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business expect to leave their businesses within the next decade, raising questions about who will take over local businesses as owners retire or move on.
The provincial finding is part of CFIB's new report, Passing the Torch: Small Business Succession in Canada, released Thursday, October 22. CFIB's Alberta representatives told local media that 60 per cent of owners surveyed in the province plan to exit within 10 years and only five per cent have a formal succession plan.
An owner's intention to exit does not automatically mean the business will close. An exit can involve selling a company, passing it to family or transferring it to employees, with the business continuing under new ownership.
Succession planning remains uncommon
Across Canada, CFIB says 63 per cent of surveyed small-business owners expect to leave their business within 10 years, while six per cent have a formal written succession plan. Those are national figures; the corresponding Alberta figures are 60 per cent and five per cent.
CFIB estimates the assets of Canadian small and medium-sized businesses whose owners could exit during the decade total more than $2 trillion. That is a national estimate of business assets potentially changing hands, not a forecast of economic losses or closures in Alberta.
Retirement is the leading reason
Nationally, CFIB found retirement was cited by 78 per cent of owners planning to exit. Burnout or stress was cited by 21 per cent, and high operating costs by 20 per cent. Owners could identify more than one reason.
In reporting on the Alberta findings, Lethbridge News Now quoted CFIB representatives saying that retirement and the costs of operating a business were also key reasons owners in the province intended to leave.
Finding a buyer or suitable successor was the most commonly cited national obstacle, identified by 47 per cent of owners. Difficulty finding time to plan and establishing a business valuation each registered 37 per cent.
Selling, transferring and closing are different outcomes
Most respondents nationally favour ownership transfer over closure. CFIB found 54 per cent plan to sell to an unrelated buyer and 28 per cent plan to sell to employees, while others plan family transfers. Only 13 per cent of owners nationally indicated they expect to close their businesses altogether.
Because owners may consider multiple succession options, those responses should not be added together as exclusive shares.
A Calgary example of succession already underway
In a separate CityNews interview, the owners of LICS Ice Cream Shop in Calgary's Parkdale neighbourhood described plans to keep the business in their family. CFIB's Alberta representative Keyli Loeppky told CityNews that more new entrepreneurs are needed to take over established businesses as current owners retire.
CFIB is calling for more information and support for prospective small-business buyers, including measures intended to help owners and future entrepreneurs navigate succession, valuations and ownership transfers.
The findings describe the intentions of surveyed business owners, not a confirmed timetable for specific closures or job losses. The report does not quantify how many Calgary businesses will close over the next decade.
Original research: CFIB, Passing the Torch: Small Business Succession in Canada, October 22, 2026.
Original CFIB news release and national findings.
Alberta-specific percentages: Lethbridge News Now reporting on CFIB findings, October 23, 2026.
Local Calgary business interview: CityNews, October 23, 2026.