After surviving a series of calamities last year, small and medium-sized business owners in B.C. are starting to feel good about their firms’ chances of success.

According to a recent survey by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, small businesses in this province are the most optimistic in Canada about their firms’ potential to achieve stronger growth in the next 12 months.

This marks the second straight quarter that B.C. small businesses have led the country in optimism and the third quarter that the province has exceeded the national average.

Last year, B.C. businesses had to cope with the softwood lumber dispute, Okanagan forest fires, mad-cow disease and SARS.

“They feel a little bit more reassured now, having weathered some of those problems,” said Jeff Nugent, a senior policy analyst with the CFIB’s B.C. branch, who conducted the research. “Generally, there was a lot more fear than there was actual consequences.”

The CFIB results show that 62 per cent of B.C. small businesses – 10 percentage points higher than the national average – anticipate stronger growth within the next year, up slightly from the last quarter, when 61 per cent of surveyed CFIB members in B.C. said they expected their fortunes to improve.

Meanwhile, 33.5 per cent of small business owners surveyed said they expect to add more full-time employees while 6.5 per cent expect to reduce full-time staff.

Nugent attributed the optimism to Vancouver’s successful bid to host the 2010 Winter Olympics and the change from the former New Democratic Party regime to Premier Gordon Campbell’s Liberal government, which is perceived as more friendly to business.

“We are, right now, the most optimistic in the country, but the question is, how do we translate that into becoming the best-performing economy in the country?” asked Nugent.

The CFIB has called on the province to return the provincial sales tax to seven per cent from 7.5 per cent and increase the small business tax threshold to $400,000 in net earnings from $300,000 in net earnings, and be more accountable about its pledge to relieve the regulatory burden faced by small businesses.

The CFIB has surveyed members on their attitudes toward future business prospects since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, when confidence levels nosedived. And while they have increased steadily since then, “it’s a delicate optimism,” said Nugent.

Nugent warned that the survey results could change in the next quarter in light of the federal government’s plan to kill thousands of birds to avert the spread of avian flu. All CFIB members directly involved in the poultry and food-processing industries are concerned about the potential ramifications, he added.

Meanwhile, the B.C. government is trumpeting the CFIB’s findings.

“That optimism will translate into jobs, investments and opportunities that will benefit B.C.’s working families,” said Small Business and Economic Development Minister John Les in a statement.

Dan Kelly, the CFIB’s vice-president for Western Canada, said the Liberals have “lifted the lead weight” that hung over the government for a decade, but several policies could still be improved.