The industry held a press conference calling for immediate action for support, noting that patrons will stay away from dining until mass vaccinations are rolled out.
The industry analyst says that the coronavirus pandemic is almost certain to lead to a recession which likely will significantly depress retail sales, with statistics to follow.
Retail industry analyst Ed Strapagiel reviews the Statistics Canada numbers for 2019, indicating the slowest growth since the recessionary times of 2009.
After 11 months of 2019, year-to-date overall Canadian retail sales were up just 1.5%, well below the approximate 3.5% pace needed to keep up with population growth and price inflation. It's virtually certain that 2019 retail sales growth will end up at a 10 year low.
Retail expert Ed Strapagiel says that according to current trends, things are only going to get worse before they get better, though one sector is is primarily responsible for most of the bad news.
A new report by Statistics Canada shows a significant increase between 2004 and 2016 that far exceeds population growth, with shopping centres playing a big role.