The numbers pan out differently by province, too. Personal and household services were hit equally hard in Ontario and New Brunswick in March, but by September, Ontario was still down 19 per cent while New Brunswick was actually up 17 points.
The federal government has announced important steps by extending the Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy , expanding the Canada Emergency Business Account and improving the Business Credit Availability Program . Provinces have stepped up with tax deferrals and commercial rent relief. At unprecedented speed, the banking sector as a whole approved over 760,000 CEBA loans from March through September, representing more than $30 billion in interest-free credit for eligible businesses.
The Canada Emergency Business Account is part of the federal government’s loan and loan-guarantee program for small and medium-size businesses.Thousands of consumers are keeping faith with local businesses, too, in new ways over new platforms, but perhaps most important are the efforts of Canada’s entrepreneurs themselves: re-imagining, redesigning and rethinking their entire approach.
We also need to continue breaking down barriers that were impacting business owners long before the pandemic. The new federal Black Entrepreneurship Program in partnership with the Canadian financial community, ourselves included, is a prime example.