Businesses in Canadian, American gay villages struggle amid pandemic: study

HALIFAX — A new study has found the businesses in North America’s gay villages were hit harder by the COVID-19 pandemic than those owned by members of the LGBTQ2S+ community elsewhere.

The study, commissioned by e-commerce platform company Lightspeed and carried out by Carleton University’s Sprott School of Business, looked at the impact of the pandemic on businesses that are more than 51 per cent owned by members of the LGBTQ2S+ community in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles.

Most businesses in the villages fell under the retail, restaurant and entertainment categories, which have been hardest hit over the last year and a half, according to data from Statistics Canada.

Though most businesses surveyed were located outside of gay villages, the study found they were concerned about the longevity of business within the villages as they dealt with closures, gentrification and high rent.

Overall, 60 per cent of respondents reported the pandemic negatively affected their business operations.

The study also found that 20 per cent of the businesses surveyed reported having laid off employees since the start of the pandemic.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 12, 2021.

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This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

The Canadian Press

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