The pump prices around Ottawa keep climbing and small business owners across the city are feeling it in their bank accounts. Some are finding creative ways to survive while others worry about how long they can absorb these costs before passing them along to customers.
I’ve watched this pattern before during previous energy crises. Business owners get squeezed from multiple directions at once. Their delivery trucks cost more to fill. Their heating bills jump. The products they order arrive with higher price tags because suppliers face the same pressures.
A recent report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business paints a concerning picture for local enterprises. Confidence among small business owners dropped after a brief recovery at the start of the year. The ongoing conflict in Iran adds uncertainty to an already volatile fuel market.
Christina Santini directs national affairs at the CFIB. She explained why fuel hits small businesses particularly hard. Transportation relies on it. Heating systems need it. The entire supply chain feels the impact when prices surge.
The CFIB data shows 58 percent of small businesses worry about rising energy costs. That’s more than half of all small enterprises facing the same anxiety about their bottom lines.
Some Ottawa companies are finding silver linings in difficult circumstances. Trexity operates a delivery service based right here in the city. Alok Ahuja co-founded the company and serves as its CEO.
He’s noticed something interesting in the past two weeks. More consumers want to drive less. They’re asking their favorite retailers to send products directly to their homes instead.
Demand for Trexity’s services is climbing as people seek alternatives to filling their own gas tanks. The company is covering the increased fuel costs for now without raising prices. Ahuja monitors the situation closely week by week.
His approach involves talking regularly with couriers to understand what’s happening on the ground. If the data shows fuel costs becoming unsustainable, he’ll bring back a fuel surcharge. The company used this strategy during the pandemic when delivery demand exploded.
Right now the math works in their favor. Higher delivery volume means couriers earn more money. That extra income offsets what they spend on gas. Ahuja calls it a fair trade-off but knows circumstances could change quickly.
I’ve covered enough economic stories to know this balancing act rarely lasts forever. Businesses can absorb rising costs for only so long before something has to give.
Santini from the CFIB explained the cascading effect. When transportation costs increase, the price of input products rises. Small business owners absorb these costs temporarily. Eventually they must pass increases along to their customers or risk going under.
The challenge for business owners becomes deciding when to raise prices. Move too quickly and you might lose customers to competitors. Wait too long and your profit margins disappear completely.
Public services in Ottawa face the same pressures as private businesses. The Ottawa Police Service built its 2026 budget around fuel priced at $1.42 per liter. Current prices already exceed that projection significantly.
City officials took steps to protect municipal budgets from fuel volatility. They hedged fuel costs for city services and OC Transpo. This financial strategy provides some buffer against market swings but doesn’t eliminate the problem entirely.
I remember talking with a small bakery owner last year about ingredient costs. She showed me spreadsheets tracking every expense down to the penny. Fuel affected her business in ways most customers never considered. Her flour delivery cost more. Her ovens consumed natural gas. Even the paper products she ordered reflected higher transportation fees.
She raised prices gradually over several months. Each increase was small enough that regular customers barely noticed. But she worried constantly about losing business to grocery store bakeries with more purchasing power.
Canadian businesses aren’t panicking yet according to the CFIB assessment. However, the uncertainty surrounding the conflict in Iran makes forecasting nearly impossible. Nobody knows when or if gas prices will drop back to more manageable levels.
The geopolitical situation adds layers of complexity beyond simple supply and demand. Markets react to news from the Middle East in real time. A single headline can send prices jumping or falling within hours.
Ottawa business owners find themselves at the mercy of forces completely beyond their control. They can’t influence international conflicts. They can’t drill for oil. They can’t set global commodity prices.
What they can control is how they respond. Some businesses are reducing delivery zones to cut driving distances. Others are encouraging customers to place larger orders less frequently. A few are investing in more fuel-efficient vehicles despite the upfront costs.
The adaptability of small business owners never fails to impress me. They face challenges that would overwhelm many people. Yet they keep finding ways to adjust and survive.
Trexity’s experience shows how crisis can create opportunity for some companies. Their business model happens to align perfectly with consumer behavior during high fuel prices. Not every business enjoys such fortunate circumstances.
Restaurant owners who depend on takeout and delivery face tough choices. Landscaping companies that drive equipment between job sites across the city watch their fuel budgets evaporate. Contractors who travel to multiple construction sites daily struggle with expenses that weren’t in their original project bids.
The broader economic impact ripples through Ottawa’s entire business community. When small businesses hurt, they hire fewer employees. They invest less in expansion. They contribute less to the local tax base.
I’ve walked past too many empty storefronts in recent years. Each one represents someone’s dream that couldn’t survive the accumulated pressures of rent, wages, regulations and now fuel costs.
The coming weeks will test the resilience of Ottawa’s small business sector. Those who can adapt quickly stand the best chance of weathering this storm. Those operating on razor-thin margins may face impossible decisions.
For now, owners are watching gas prices daily and hoping for stability. They’re running calculations to determine their breaking points. And they’re doing what small business owners have always done. They’re finding creative solutions to problems they didn’t create.
