The Canadian Federation of Independent Business reports optimism is improving in this province. CFIB Director of Provincial Affairs Jonathan Alward says it's continuing to improve.

"For September, the index is up to 62.6, which is another half point from last month," he says. "We've seen it increase for a few consecutive months now -- it's ahead of the national average, which has really been yo-yoing back and forth around that 60 mark. It still has a lot of room to go."

Alward feels the provincial government's moving in the right direction.

"They're looking to try and reduce taxes," he says. "Even in the last provincial election, there was a huge commitment to eliminate school property taxes. And that's something that our members have been asking for, for a long time. It has a huge impact on businesses, and for farmers especially, it's a huge cost. These kind of signals are going to give business owners a lot of optimism."

Alward adds predicting how the next month will play out is difficult.

"I think a lot will have to do with the federal election," he says. "A lot's going to have to do with the weather. Hopefully, the farmers have a good finish to their seasons. And, obviously, there are things that are out of our control. Still a lot of trade uncertainty with China, among others, but I think come November, we'll start to have a better picture painted of what we can expect for the next few months."