Small business owner Steve Hillier has been operating a make-your-own wine store on Wellington Road South, London for about ten years. He says dealing with the city of London has been mostly pain-free. That is, except for when it comes to construction of the rapid transit network outside his front door. “It seems like the construction is causing issues for customers to, A, make it on time, or just to find how to get in here if you’re coming from a certain direction. And when a plan out here is going for three years or so, it really hinders,” explained Hillier. Lack of supports for businesses affected by construction is one of several issues cited in a new report that rates business-friendliness across Canadian cities. In its Municipal Report Card, 2026, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) ranks London 15th out of 66 cities. London scored an overall grade of D, considered below satisfactory. But the highest any city scored was C+. Angela Drennan, CFIB Vice-President of Ontario Legislative Affairs, says London gets some things right, but other things, not so much. “Lowest scoring category was in the regulatory burden section, reflecting an average number of permits required to start and operate a business. No publicly available license or permit approval timelines. And no dedicated red tape feedback portal. Some of the strengths though, was actually the cost burden, driven by operating spending growth, that actually didn’t exceed population and inflation growth,” Drennan said. And in a time of trade uncertainty, businesses large and small are always looking for a leg up. One business expert says the city could consider procurement policies that favour local companies. “Businesses are often looking to government for grants and support and that type of thing,” said Steve Pellarin, Executive Director of the London Small Business Centre. “But a purchase order can go a lot further. Right? Purchase orders build businesses. And I think that the city of London needs to look closely at its procurement policies, and how do they make those inclusive of the small businesses,” he said. Among the CFIB recommendations, the report card says municipalities should:
