The week of October 16 to 22 marks this year’s Small Business Week in Canada. According to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), the country’s largest association of small and medium-sized businesses, there are an estimated 1.2 million small business employers and millions of self-employed who contribute to the Canadian economy.
In a statement released on Sunday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acknowledged the relevance of the week-long occasion.
Assistance Programs
In the same statement, the Prime Minister also mentioned the Digital Adoption Program and the Small Business Financing Program.
Run by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, the $4 billion Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP) provides funding and support to help businesses get online, boost their e-commerce presence or help digitalize business operations. It also provides training and work opportunities for young Canadians. The eligibility requirements and other details about this program can be found at https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/canada-digital-adoption-program/en.
Under the Canada Small Business Financing Program (CSBFP), the maximum loan amount a borrower can access is $1.15 million, which breaks down to a maximum of $1 million for term loans and $150,000 for lines of credit.
According to the FAQ section of this program, those eligible to apply are most start-ups and existing for-profit, not-for-profit and charitable small businesses in Canada with gross revenues of $10 million or less. Furthermore, these businesses can be corporations, sole proprietors, partnerships or cooperatives. More information about this program is available at https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/canada-small-business-financing-program/en.
Ongoing Challenges
Despite the federal government’s assistance programs, the past two years of the pandemic gave rise to ongoing challenges such as lackluster sales, debt, labour shortages and increased costs due to inflation.
In a statement posted Monday morning on the CFIB website, the organization cited data from its Small Business Recovery Dashboard showing that 56% of small businesses across Canada have yet to return to their normal levels of revenue, and that small firms still carry an average of $144,000 of pandemic debt.
CFIB encourages consumers to help by “choosing local, independent businesses over giant multinationals whenever possible.” They also recommended paying with cash or Interac debit instead of credit cards due to their high cost for merchants. Using social media to recommend favourite small businesses to friends and contacts is also helpful, according to the CFIB.
Other relevant links:
- Full statement of PM Trudeau on Small Business Week: https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/statements/2022/10/16/statement-prime-minister-small-business-week
- Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) website: https://www.cfib-fcei.ca/en/