Marika Styba, owner of Peaseblossoms Flowers in Calgary, says her walk-in customer traffic has decreased by at least 50 per cent over the past four years.Photography by Amir Salehi/The Globe and Mail
As the owner of Peaseblossoms Flowers in Calgary, Marika Styba’s life is full of colour. On a regular day, she tends her shop, filled with vibrant petals and stems, creating bouquets for gifts and events.
Part of what she loves about being a florist is connecting with her regulars, including a child who stops by after school and customers who come in for a chat.
“Having a small business isn’t just about having a business. It’s about being part of a community,” Ms. Styba said. “We’re providing eyes on the street because we are there at the ground level daily.”
But in the past four years, Ms. Styba said her walk-in customer traffic has decreased by at least 50 per cent. She thinks part of the reason is customers feeling unsafe in the area, with public drug use, break-ins, vandalism and store damage from people lighting fires to stay warm.
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“We already have so many reasons why people don’t want to shop in established neighbourhoods,” she said. “Now, it’s on our doorstep.”
About half of small-business owners say crime has increased in their community in the past year, according to a report released Wednesday by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, while only 2 per cent reported a decrease. The federation surveyed around 2,500 small businesses across Canada in October, 2025, about crime and safety affecting their establishments. In seven provinces, more than half of surveyed business owners also expressed concern about their personal safety.
“It’s a daily reality that crime is reshaping how their business operates and how they serve their customers,” said Kayode Southwood, senior policy analyst and co-author of the project. “For a lot of these business owners, their main storefront is their livelihood. There’s no real option for them to be able to up and move or rely on another location.”
Ms. Styba and her assistant Erika Ravnsborg arrange a bouquet inside the flower shop.
According to Statistics Canada, shoplifting rates have increased by 66 per cent from 2014 to 2024. Emeritus University of Ottawa criminology professor Irvin Waller said part of the reason may be an uptick in homelessness and poverty. Statscan also says almost 60,000 people in 74 Canadian communities experienced homelessness in 2024.
“Poverty is a reason that prolific offenders commit property offences,” Prof. Waller said, adding that these offences can overlap with mental illness and drug use.
About two to three times a week, Ms. Styba said her mornings begin with unloading flowers from her car and calling city bylaw to relocate unhoused people sleeping in her back alley or near her front door.
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“There’s a part of you that’s compassionate, and then there’s another part of you that says, ‘I have bills to pay,’” Ms. Styba said. “When someone doesn’t want to come to your door because they don’t feel comfortable, you’re literally losing your dream.”
To cope with what the federation’s respondents say is increasing crime in their neighbourhoods, Mr. Southwood said some businesses have adjusted shift hours for employees who feel unsafe, moved to appointment-only or installed a doorbell.
Dan Koenig, owner of Legacy Meats butcher shop in Lethbridge, Alta., said he has started reporting incidents of public drug use during his store hours or defecation near his business up to twice a week. He also notices random fighting and aggressive panhandling, which he said are affecting perceptions of safety and reducing foot traffic.
“It feels somewhat lawless,” Mr. Koenig said, adding that he presented his concerns to his city council last month. “When I see things like police driving by, slowing down, and then continuing on rather than acting upon these wrongful acts, it is becoming quite disconcerting and depressing.”
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According to the federation, 77 per cent of respondents say their taxes do not translate into improved community safety, and only 34 per cent are satisfied with police response times or services. Eighty-nine per cent said they believe the federal government should strengthen criminal penalties for retail-related crime.
“A lot of businesses across the country see the same things every day and they wonder why nothing’s being done to address it,” Mr. Southwood said. “It’s important that governments look at these areas and come up with meaningful solutions that can help prevent these issues.”
For now, Ms. Styba said she keeps her store well-lit, and cleans up graffiti affecting her storefront as quickly as she can.
“I can make it welcoming and inviting,” she said. “But if people aren’t going to come down, I can’t make them.”