Article content An early April poll conducted by the group shows 27 per cent of small business owners have a dim view of their future, while 40 per cent felt the same way about their financial situation. “It’s a pretty pessimistic outlook of the current situation and into the future — there’s not a lot of optimism there,” said Dormuth. Because of the disproportionate effect of the pandemic on small businesses, their expectation of a return to normalcy was even gloomier, with 60 per cent predicting it won’t happen this year, she said. Provincial government officials say they expect May to be a decisive month in turning the third wave’s tide due to an accelerated vaccination effort.