Small business thrives in the wake of big business. In Calgary that means energy company head offices which have greatly reduced staff over the past two years. Fewer people downtown to patronize small service businesses whether they be a restaurant or a cigar store. It's proof that large scale enterprises are required 
for a strong economy. It could be resource extraction, as in Alberta's case, or manufacturing, or a military base. A service economy in itself is  hard scrabble in the absence of something big nearby to support it.