Winnipeg, May 6, 2021 – With a growing number of regions now in lockdown, provincial small business grant programs are not keeping up with the economic damage business owners are facing across Canada, says the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB). CFIB evaluated each of the main provincial grant programs across Canada and found massive gaps and a lack of support to address the third wave of COVID-19 restrictions.
“After more than a year of lockdowns and restrictions, small businesses have amassed dizzying levels of debt and the relief provinces have provided doesn’t even scratch the surface,” said CFIB president Dan Kelly. “In some cases, the programs have closed down, even as businesses are forced to shutter their doors once again, with no certainty of when they might reopen. It’s a really unfair situation.”
“The Manitoba Bridge Grant was a well-designed program to get quickly help to businesses. Unfortunately, this program closed well before restrictions have been lifted for thousands of small businesses across the province,” noted Jonathan Alward, CFIB’s director, Prairie Region. “The provincial government must immediately extend this funding for hard-hit industries to help them survive and repay the $180,000 in COVID-related debt the average small business has taken on.”
To measure the reach of the provincial programs, CFIB conducted four case studies of how a dine-in restaurant, a small retailer, a dry cleaner and a new gym would fare in each province. In many cases, the grant programs helped cover off less than one-tenth of the new debt small firms have inherited due to COVID-19.
CLOSED PROGRAMS:
Small businesses in four provinces (Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador) no longer have access to a widely available unconditional grant program at this time as several have closed their main program despite a growing number of COVID-19 cases and third-wave restrictions across the country.
LITTLE SUPPORT:
Several provinces provided very little grant money ($10,000 or less) to small firms hit by pandemic restrictions.
NEW BUSINESSES EXCLUDED:
Many of the new businesses that began operations in 2020 have been unable to access any of the federal programs. Based on the case study analysis conducted by CFIB, three Atlantic provinces (Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island and New-Brunswick) would exclude a gym started in June 2020.
ESSENTIAL BUSINESSES EXCLUDED:
While some provinces provide support to most businesses facing a major decline in revenues, several jurisdictions exclude those that were allowed to stay open but faced a significant decline in sales due to government stay-at-home orders/advice (e.g. drycleaners). Most of these businesses were unable to get support anywhere except in British Columbia, Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador.
CFIB is calling on provinces to ensure that all businesses affected by lockdowns and restrictions have access to enough financial support to get them through to reopening, to make the applications process simple, and to approve applications and release funds as quickly as possible.
Small business owners can help by signing CFIB’s petitions calling on provinces to provide more support.
For media enquiries or interviews with Dan Kelly, CFIB’s president and CEO, please contact Milena Stanoeva, Manager of Public Affairs, at 647-464-2814 or email public.affairs@cfib.ca.
To arrange an interview with Jonathan Alward, CFIB's director, Prairie Region, please call (431) 998-4498, or e-mail msman@cfib.ca. You can also follow CFIB Manitoba on Twitter at @cfibMB.
About CFIB
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is Canada’s largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 95,000 members across every industry and region. CFIB is dedicated to increasing business owners’ chances of success by driving policy change at all levels of government, providing expert advice and tools, and negotiating exclusive savings. Learn more at cfib.ca.
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