Last updated: April 21, 2020

In these unprecedented times, governments have been announced that there will be financial support for businesses, but details are currently limited.

In this live article we will be posting information on different financial assistance program, including grant and loan programs for Canadian small businesses, as information becomes available.

New Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) for small businesses - working in collaboration with provincial and territorial governments the federal government hopes to create this new assistance program, which will provide loans, including forgivable loans, to commercial property owners who in turn will lower or forgo the rent of small businesses for the months of April (retroactive), May, and June. The program is dependent upon successful collaborations and further details will be released at a later date.

$962 million for regional development agencies - The federal government will provide $300 million to Community Futures Development Corporations (CFDCs) across Canada - check with your local CFDC to find out what support programs they will provide to local businesses. Another $675 million of this funding will be used to support high impact companies.

$306.8 million for Aboriginal owned businesses and Aboriginal financial institutions - The federal government announced  up to $306.8 million for for short-term, interest-free loans and non-repayable contributions through Aboriginal Financial Institutions, which is expected to help 6,000 Aboriginal-owned businesses. (read announcement)

$250 million for Innovation Assistance Program - The National Research Council (NRC) has received a $250 million boost to a new Innovation Assistance Program (IAP) designed to help early stage and scale up companies with their payroll costs. The program is intended for a wide range of companies, not just traditional IRAP recipients and is designed to assist companies that did not qualify for other federal subsidies such as the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS), Business Credit Availability Program (BCAP).

Mitacs intern funding boosted to 75% for covid-19 projects - Mitacs, a non-profit that matches university students with businesses, has increased its wage subsidy to 75% for Canadian companies working on projects to bring products to market to assist with Covid-19. (read announcement)

75% Wage Subsidy: (March 27, 2020 - updated March 30, 2020) Qualifying businesses will receive a wage subsidy for three months retroactive to March 15, 2020. "If your business' revenues have decreased by at least 30% because of Covid-19 you will be eligible for this subsidy. The number of employees you have will not determine whether you get this support," said Prime Minister Trudeau. The subsidy will apply to companies, non-profits and charties regardless of size. The government will cover up to 75% of salary up on the first $58,700 earned by the employee, which is up to $847 per week.

Deferred GST / HST payments: (March 27, 2020) All payments are deferred until June, as well as customs duties owed for imports.

Canada Emergency Business Account for small businesses: (March 27, 2020) Businesses will be able to access interest free loan of $40,000 through their financial institutions and 25% of the loan (up to $10,000) will be eligible for forgiveness. The minimum and maximum annual payroll required to access a CERB loan was recently changed to a minimum of $20,000 (from $50,000) and maximum of $1,500,000 (from $1,000,000) payroll in 2019.

Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Loan and Guarantee program: (March 27, 2020) Export Development Canada (EDC) and BDC will help businesses access incremental credit amounts of up to $6.25 million  per increment. EDC will provide operating credit and cashflow loans to businesses directly, while BDC will work with the business' financial institution to provide term loans for operational cashflow requirements.  

Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB): (March 25, 2020) The Government of Canada has proposed a simplified the benefit it will provide to Canadians who are unable to work due to covid-19. The program would provide $2,000 a month for up to 4 months and would be easier to access than the previously announced Emergency Care Benefit and Emergency Support Benefit. This program would be availble to workers including self-employed Canadians.  (learn more)

$27 Billion in Direct Support to Workers, Businesses: (March 18, 2020) Update: The government has put forward a proprosal that would replace the Emergency Care Benefit and Emergency Support Benefit programs with a new Canada Emergency Response Benefit noted above. The Temporary Wage Subsidy is not affected by this change. Original information: The Government of Canada has announced $27 billion in funding that includes a new emergency care benefit, Covid-19 emergency support benefit and temporary wage subsidy. (learn more)

$100 Million Grant Program (International): (March 17, 2020) Facebook has announced a $100 million in cash grants and ad credits 30,000 eligible small businesses worldwide, including Canada. While details are still being finalized, but you can get further information here.

$10 Billion in New Credit: (March 13, 2020) The Government of Canada announced a $10 billion Business Credit Availability Program (BCAP), which will further support financing in the private sector through the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) and Export Development Canada (EDC). (Contact the BDC or EDC to apply.)

$300 Billion in Lending Capacity: (March 13, 2020) The government has also made regulatory changes that will increase the lending capacity of Canada’s large banks by over $300 billion. (Read the government press release.)

Program Details

Temporary Wage Subsidy for Employers - this FAQ covers eligibility, calculations and when to start reducing remittances

Updated Tax Filing Deadlines