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Small business confidence in Alberta has plunged during the past month, says the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, with optimism among the province’s entrepreneurs the lowest it’s ever recorded across Canada.

The latest outlook saw a “worrisome” decline in December, Richard Truscott, the CFIB’s vice-president for Alberta and B.C., said in a news release.

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“The scariest part is we typically see an upward bump in December due to the busy holiday season, especially for the service and retail sectors,” he said.

“The year ahead is shaping up to be one of the toughest years for small business in the history of our province.”

The organization’s latest Business Barometer, released Thursday, put Alberta’s score on the index of small business optimism at 33.1 — down 4.3 points. That’s 23 points lower than the next lowest province (Saskatchewan), and the weakest provincial score in the 15 years the CFIB has tracked business owners’ optimism.

The index is measured on a scale of zero to 100. A score above 50 means the number of business owners who expect their business performance to be stronger in the next year outnumber those who expect it to be worse. The CFIB says a level between 65 and 75 typically indicates a growing economy.