Most Canadian small business owners say that feeling more financially secure would make them more willing to take risks with their business, according to new research from Sun Life.
Sixty-nine percent (69%) of the 356 owners and decision-makers surveyed said greater financial security would let them make bolder business decisions. Asked what they would do if they felt more secure about the future, 27% said they would invest more in growth, 22% would expand into new products, services or markets, 21% would contribute more to their communities, and 18% would spend more time on long-term planning.
Owners also ranked security ahead of growth when defining success. Long-term financial security for themselves and their families came first at 27%, ahead of growing revenue and profitability at 19%.
"Small business owners have a lot to juggle and rarely have the luxury of focusing on one priority at a time," said Jessica Tan, executive vice president and president of Sun Life Canada.
The survey suggests owners see a direct link between their staff's financial health and business performance. Three-quarters (76%) agreed that employees' financial stress can affect their wellbeing and work. Seventy percent said helping employees build financial security is an investment in the future of the business, and 70% said investing in employees strengthens the company's long-term resilience.
Beyond pay, owners most wanted to give employees stability and job security (41%), a sense of purpose and belonging (34%), and greater financial security and the ability to save (29%).
The online survey was conducted with Dig Insights from September 3 to 10, 2026. Sun Life sells group benefits, workplace savings plans and insurance to small businesses, and the release promoted several of its products.
The findings sit uneasily with other recent data on how small businesses manage risk. Earlier this year, Zensurance's Small Business Confidence Index found that 61% of Canadian small businesses had no business insurance. The same index showed confidence falling for a third straight year, to 49%.
The two surveys measure different things, use different samples, and were commissioned by companies that sell coverage to this market. Taken together, they suggest many owners place a high value on security in principle, while the formal protections that would provide it for themselves and their employees, including business insurance, group benefits and workplace savings, are often missing.
For advisors working with small businesses, the survey points to a different starting point for the conversation. Owners who define success by security rather than revenue may respond better to protection and planning framed around their family's stability and their staff's resilience than to cost or compliance.
The employee findings support the case for small-group benefits and workplace savings, particularly for firms trying to retain staff without matching larger employers on pay. The main barrier is likely to be the one the survey hints at: owners juggling many priorities at once, with limited time to act on any of them.
